Kanahka's Chronicle/Entry 6

I sit once more at my makeshift desk to report another eventful week. This week started off with some necessary combat training. Rohko had us and himself engage in mock combat to discover our strengths and weaknesses, and where we can complement each other.

Such training is necessary when we have such powerful and wicked being hounding us. We prepared for a few days, both honing our skills and crafting weapons. I won’t go into too much detail on how they were built, but will say that some of them were quite ingenious. After three days of preparing ourselves, we ventured once more out into the wilderness to gather food. This time, the whole group went along, seeing as we had very little food left at the camp, thus making raiding it not very high on the local animals' to-do lists.

We had a dual purpose for this excursion. First was the obvious one, to gather foodstuffs. The second was to try to entice our enemies to attack, so that we could capture and interrogate them. That way, we could get some answers to the burning questions like Who Are You and Why In Karzahni Are You Attacking Us.

All went well for at least an hour. The only thing interesting was that Matu tripped and landed face-first in his bag of food, which was filled with more than a few gooey berries.

And that was precisely when things went wrong. Vohk started to laugh, as did several more of us, but he stopped laughing quickly. That never happens. Naturally, this was cause for concern. Apparently someone was trying to capture us again. This time they were having a harder time of it, judging by the sounds of metal-on-metal impacts and muffled grunting.

I vaulted over a small creek to help my comrade. He was actually doing a good job on his own, however, driving his elbows into his enemy's stomach over and over at blistering speed. I did our foe a service and saved him from Vohk's fiery temper, which was just on the verge of boiling over. I reached over to the attacker, the same black, lanky one from last week, and peeled him off my young teammate. I then shoved him aside, which was easy due to his light body, causing him to land in the creek.

The kidnapper tried to stand, but a clawed foot happening to belong to Rohko descended upon his chest, pinning him to the bottom of the inch-deep waterway.

For some reason, we had all forgotten about the teleporter device. Still, quick action kept us from losing our quarry. Matu saw the enemy's hand sliding slowly toward a piece of machinery on his hip, and the sharp-eyed Ta-Matoran lashed out with a kick, smashing the delicate device.

Our attacker scowled. Rohko aimed his shield at him, priming its ability to project heat waves. Even from several feet away, I could feel the gentle breeze got slightly hotter as it passed over Rohko's weapon. Our enemy could feel the heat, too, and didn't seem to like it at all.

"I'll talk," he said in an unusual voice. "No need to bake the truth out of me.”

"Who are you?" Rohko asked shortly, as if he wanted to get that question out of the way.

"I am Jardel," he said.

"Why do you keep attacking us?" Rohko asked, this time apparently more passionate about the question.

"It's my job," Jardel replied. "I serve the Makuta, and right now I am assisting Burtok, guardian of this island of crystal."

There was an audible amount of surprise that rose from our group as Jardel mentioned the Makuta as his masters. Was here no place in the universe they did not claim as their own?

"Look," Rohko said gruffly. "I am curious why you serve the Makuta, but I don't want a rant about the righteousness of the organization and their right to rule all "lesser beings," and all that trash, so I won't ask. I will ask, though, why in the world they would have any presence here on this wild, untamed spit of land."

"Burtok and Rayzok seek the Lightning Crystals, chunks of burned sand charged with the power of the heavens," Jardel answered, sounding like the was directly quoting the Makuta from one of their pompous speeches.

I must point out that this situation me the definition of irony, seeing as the crystals were the very thing that made Rohko decide to come here in the first place.

"I see," was all Rohko said. "Any more of you fanatical goons around here?"

Jardel smiled, the trickling stream flowing around his upturned cheeks, and replied, "Just one, right behind you."

Rohko whirled in time to get an energy blast to the chest and be knocked to the forest floor. We all readied ourselves for combat at the sight of Thranatuka standing there, energy wisps dispersing from the barrel of his arm-mounted gun.

"Eight. Guess the gang's all here," he grinned as Jardel took up position to his side. "Let's get started."

Grunting in pain, Rohko got back to his feet, ready to scrap. "Yes, lets."

To start the fight, Thranatuka did the most obvious thing he could possibly have done: fire his energy gun at Rohko again. Rohko's arm flashed through the air, bringing his shield up to block the attack. Then my fiery-tempered brother began advancing on Thranatuka. Slowly at first, then more rapid, he picked up speed as he charged at his Runask adversary. Thranatuka didn't look the least bit afraid, and just as Rohko was about to ram his shield into him, Thranatuka just shot straight up and took to the air. Of course. He could fly.

While Rohko had been discovering our enemy's true power, Jardel had been keeping the Three Fuzors far enough apart that they could not form Zakalonn. I suppose he had correctly guessed that Zakalonn would retain his knowledge of how to defeat Jardel in a fight, which would of course make him an impossible adversary. Truth be told, Zakalonn would be even more difficult to defeat now than he was before, thanks to our group training. Thus, Jardel's strategy was a very, very smart one.

So naturally we needed a smarter one. I already had an idea, but it needed Matu and Hoka to work. They were currently, along with Vohk and Rohko, dodging energy bolts from Thranatuka's weapon.

"Vohk!" I shouted. "Get the Matoran over here!"

The youth complied, and got my partners to me in record time. I then told him to offer himself to provide any kind of aid Rohko could need. With the Matoran by my side, I began enacting my strategy.

While we were doing this, Vohk obeyed me and offered to do anything for Rohko that my brother could need. Rohko, being the rash yet creative chap that he is, decided to toss Vohk at Thranatuka. Of course, I put it simply right there. He also told Vohk to whirl in midair as he was thrown. It was revealed in our fighting him that Vohk has the ability to spin on his vertical axis at which speed, which, when coupled with his clawed fingers, turns him into an unstoppable spinning death machine. This skill was employed to good effect when Vohk was tossed at Thranatuka. The Runask dodged enough to avoid contact with Vohk's head, but not enough to get out of range of the youth's claws. Many sparks and much shredded armor resulted from this failure of his.

After Vohk passed Thranatuka, he continued to sail through the air and eventually landed in a tree. Thranatuka turned his attention to dodging Rohko's spinners and returning fire, but gave Vohk an opportunity, one he did not pass up. The youth dropped to an exposed branch, swung around twice to gain momentum, then hurled himself at Thranatuka, his clawed feet smashing into Thranatuka's back and scratching armor on the way past him and to another tree.

Rohko used this opportunity to fire a well-aimed spinner. Thranatuka could not dodge, but he instead captured the projectile in paralysis field created by his staff. He then tossed this at Rohko, forcing my brother to get out of the way. Vohk then used this distraction to hurl himself at Thranatuka again, but was not fast enough to land a surprise blow. This time, Thranatuka tried to catch Vohk as best he could, flying backwards to minimize the impact. Then, after Vohk slammed into him, and before Vohk could react, Thranatuka caught the youth in another paralysis field.

Rohko fired another spinner, but this time missed completely. Thranatuka didn't even need to dodge. He did, however, rear back and hurl the paralysis field, Vohk inside, to the forest floor.

That was when I had to stop watching and get focused on the task at hand. We were eying Jardel, he eying us. Neither was willing to attack first. When Thranatuka tossed Vohk to the ground, inflicting a knockout blow, Jardel lunged at Hoka. Matu rushed in to help, being closest to the Ga-Matoran. Then, as he prepared to land a kick, Jardel shoved Hoka in the way and flipped aside. Much to my surprise, the then made straight for me. Why he decided to attack me instead of the Fuzors was lost on me at the moment. After it was all over, I realized that his 360-degree field of vision granted by his insectoid eyes made it so that he could keep tabs on all of us at once. As he attacked me, he kept an eye, so to speak, on the Fuzors. When I lashed out, he dodged and went back to flooring them while I was swinging at open air.

I decided it was time for his plan to halt, and mine to begin. Jardel was simply keeping the Fuzors occupied and in pain so that they could not concentrate and form Zakalonn. He could do this easily, even when surrounded, due to his excellent field of vision. Still, even one with eyes like his could only concentrate on so much at once.

I approached. Jardel's head immediately turned slightly in my direction, and I could tell he was slacking in his control of his current fight, since Zalko managed to fire an electric burst into Jardel's chest. It stung, and turned his attention from the me for the moment. He then turned it back to me somewhat, then from me to the Fuzors and back over and over, trying to juggle us in his grasp of the situation. I then hunched over and charged a spinner to get his full attention. It worked, as I could see my enemy's eyes lock on to me. I stalled my spinner, trying to keep him guessing when I would fire and afraid to turn away from me, fearing I would fire the instant he did. I never had any plan to do this, however. There would be no need.

Matu and Hoka had managed to slip behind Jardel and close enough to Lahka and Vahkon to grab them. This the Matoran did, pulling their diminutive allies out of harm's way. Jardel, despite my charging spinner, turned around to see what was going on. I dissipated my spinner and rushed in to grab Zalko. Jardel turned around just in time to see me toss Zalko right over his head and over to his two partners, whoh were already locking eyes. Zalko joined them, and Zakalonn was reborn. I gave Jardel a boot toward his impossible opponent and left them to their business. The Matoran joined me as I made my way over to where Rohko was holding his own against Thranatuka. Matu checked Vohk and discovered that he was fine, but unconscious and would probably stay like that for a while.

I myself took off, my blades on my back like wings, into the air for fight Thranatuka. Yes, I can do that. Isn't it wonderful?

Anyway, Thranatuka wasted no time in shooting at me, which I did my best to dodge. Barrel rolls are fun. Don't let anyone tell you differently.

My aerial acrobatics managed to get me close enough to Thranatuka to begin to grapple with him. I quickly grabbed his left hand to keep his staff at bay, then locked hands with his right to keep his gun aimed at a nearby tree as opposed to my head.

My course of action got me nowhere, but gave Rohko an opportunity. He crouched low, then leaped straight up with his powerful legs, flying slightly higher than Thranatuka. Then, with his armored fist, Rohko smashed Thranatuka straight to the ground. Thranatuka made a solid "poom" sound when he hit bottom, and Rohko made a "clang" sound when he landed on Thranatuka a split second later.

Rohko then stepped back and blasted Thranatuka with heat waves. They were of relatively low intensity, considering what Rohko was capable of, but they proved effective nonetheless. Smoke started to rise from Thranatuka's hip, the former location of his teleporter device. Rohko smiled and swung his shield, which his enemy barely dodged.

I came up from behind, swinging my blades, which Thranatuka also evaded. Thranatuka fired his energy gun to keep Rohko on the defensive, all the while backing away from my swirling blades. I lunged forward and kicked Thranatuka, to which he responded with a whack from his staff. Rohko dove at Thranatuka, who simply ducked to evade this and swung at me with his staff, forcing me to block. I crossed my blades in a specific way, trapping his staff between them, then fired a spinner. Thranatuka barely twisted out of the way.

For one pitted against two, he was holding up rather well. That didn't last, however. That is, the "one pitted against two" thing. Zakalonn was done trashing Jardel, and Matu also joined us in advancing on Thranatuka. Now our enemy was truly losing. He was dodging my blades, Rohko's powerhouse blows, Zakalonn's staff powers, and Matu's spare Kanoka disks. Then Thranatuka appeared to back into something. It was Hoka standing behind him, keeping him from advancing further. He knew he could easily deal with her, but could not remove his attention from us.

It couldn't last. Thranatuka managed to put up a paralysis field and capture my left blade, Rohko's shield, and one of Zakalonn's energy blasts in the field, then toss the field at us. He even managed to take off and fly a few feet, but Rohko managed to catch him before he escaped and slam him on the ground. All five of us surrounded Thranatuka as Rohko pinned him the ground like he had Jardel.

Rohko's shield lifted off the ground and snapped back onto his arm as he said, "We win. Now take us to your master."

Thranatuka laughed. "You can't be serious," he sputtered. "The Makuta dwarf all others in power; their combined might could even compare to that of Mata Nui himself! And you want to be taken to Burtok?"

The Runask's words were actually beginning to sway me. I realized the validity in his logic and noticed that the others had to have realized it as well. Even Rohko was getting that look on his face that said, "That was a really, really stupid idea." He didn't get that look often -- check that, hardly at all -- so for Rohko to be in doubt of his own might, there had to be some merit to my doubt.

But then common sense set in. Of course we needed to oppose Burtok. He was evil. All evil needed to be opposed, even if only by a small group of relatively inexperienced warriors. Now, my idea of common sense may not be the same as yours, but I'm inclined to think mine is the right one, just so you know.

I addressed Thranatuka for all of us. "I do not believe we would have fought you this much if we did not ultimately intend to direct our opposition to your master." I then turned to my whole team and continued, "Seeing as we did not all cower and flee the instant we heard he was working for a Makuta, we have no excuse for that now. Evil is evil, villainy is villainy. It all must be opposed, not just the kind housed in a body without unfathomable power."

Rohko's steely gaze had returned, and he began to add to my monologue. "It's more than that," he said. "Not only should we oppose evil, but, really, everyone who knows better should. Thing is, they don't. They're cowards. They're wimps. Or they are truly unable to stand up for right because that would be futile for them to do. It's not for us. We can. Not only that, we're not cowards. We're not wimps--" he smiled briefly as he added, "--not even Vohk." Rohko allowed a pause for his words to sink in, then continued. "We have to fight, not just for our own security, but also for those who cannot or will not fight for their own. We made a decision together, as a group. We decided to not back down from what is right. We decided to fight for the riddance of evil, in spite of, and maybe even because, of those who can't or won't. So we're avenging them. We're allied together to avenge those who won't fight for themselves. If it wasn't our cause before, it has become our cause now, through a decision that, I'm sure of it, deep down, no one here regrets making."

There were exchanged looks, all of which revealed that we all now wore the same steely gaze that permanently adorned Rohko's face. He was right. None of us, not even I, who had been doubting doing right for about the first time in my life. Being brought up as a Nurtox, I had had virtues and discipline ground into me from my early years, and just a few moments ago I was considering backing down from those values which I had cherished for centuries. The guilt and shame ate at me, but the newfound resolve made up for it.

“We're the Avenging Alliance," I proclaimed proudly. I got little response. I then raised my fist and repeated myself. This time, all my teammates joined in, echoing my cheer. We were now truly a team, united forever, to a cause that surely would never become obsolete. It felt wonderful. Truly, it did.

Then Vohk brought us all back to reality, dispelling the dreamy sensations to put things back in perspective, a habit he seems to have. He addressed Thranatuka, still pinned under Rohko's foot, saying, "So, yeah, basically, answer's 'Yes'. Take us to your master."

"Or masters," I added, remembering the mention of another Makuta, Rayzok, earlier, during our talk with Jardel.

"Not necessary" said a voice. We all whirled in place to see a green-armored, sleek-looking warrior finishing materializing from a teleport. He smiled in a smug, dry, conceited way. "Nice to know who my enemies are. Can't say I'm impressed, except with tall, red, and burly in the middle, but, hey, I'll take whatever destiny throws at me. Red Matoran make excellent target practice, for example." With that, he fired laser beams out of his eyes at Matu.

"Also, your mask, smelter," he continued, "would look amazing on Burtok's statue of Mata Nui. Great Spirit did ever so love the Hau."

Matu had dodged the beams, and prepared to hurl a disk at our visitor, but he simply fell on his face and apparently drifted off to sleep. "Nightie time, hothead," our visitor cooed.

"Who might you be?" I inquired of him.

"Makuta Rayzok, apprentice to Burtok, Makuta of this land around you. But you could also call me the Avenger-Buster," he replied. "I don't need to kill you, so, despite how fun that would be and how proactive that would make me seem to my mentor, I won't. Mainly because Burtok is a major kill-joy and dislikes unnecessary action."

Hoka looked nervous, but not truly afraid. "So what will you do now?"

Rayzok looked at her like a haughty youth may regard a naive child. "Seriously? You can't even guess? Lame. If you must be told, I'm just going to beat the Karzahni out of you."

"Shouldn't we thank you, then?" Vohk asked jokingly. Rayzok smiled, as if he truly appreciated the jest, then blasted Vohk ten feet backward with a solid wall of sonic energy. Vohk got up and began racing toward our foe, but Rayzok somehow slowed Vohk to a crawl, eliminating him as a threat.

"Watch," Rayzok said, holding up one finger. "I'll beat you without even touching you."

With that, he fired a fragmentation beam at Zakalonn. Zakalonn had no time to dodge, but managed to get his staff up to semi-block the blast. The result was the blast simply throwing his component beings, the Fuzors, out of unity and splitting them from one another.

"Aww, crud. I broke him," Rayzok joked. "Maybe I can put him back together." Rayzok then slammed the Fuzors together with his magnetic powers several times before discarding their unconscious forms. "Guess not," Rayzok shrugged with false disappointment.

Hoka fired a disk made of energy from her specialized launcher, but Rayzok incinerated it with heat vision before unleashing the beams on Hoka herself, driving her to the ground.

Rohko and I didn't lose this opportunity. We rushed in to inflict some serious damage, but Rayzok faded out of tangibility as I passed through him. For Rohko, he saved a far worse treatment. He became the perfect density to disrupt Rohko's substance as my brother passed through the Makuta.

I was then slammed in the chest with a bolt of shadow, which surprisingly was not a knockout blow. I knew the Makuta did not lack the capacity to strike with such force, so I asked him what he was planning for me. His answer was disgustingly vain.

"I read in your mind that you are a journal-keeper," he answered as he blasted the helpless Vohk into unconsciousness. "I simply want you to be able to give an accurate record of how I kicked all your tails." And with that, he overwhelmed my mind with raw emotion, so much I could not take it while still conscious.

We awoke without too much pain. All three of our enemies were gone, but their handiwork was still felt.

So was our passion, however. We will fight the Makuta and their evil till the last of us is gone! The Avenging Alliance will give its collective all for right, and also avenge those who cannot do the same. That is our way. That is our destiny.

And I am still slightly disturbed that it is because of Rayzok that I am able to bring this record to you.