The Eternal Game

The Eternal Game is a unique contest-story in the Xaterex Multiverse Storyline.

Prologue
Shardak fell. He fell downward into a void of shadows. Down, down, down he and Blast fell through shadows and darkness.

Suddenly, Shardak felt a rift in time, simular to the time he'd fallen into a Hand of Mata nui dimensional gateway. But this was different in ways Shardak could not fathom. His body aged, his Kanohi Ignika vanished, before he collapsed on the ground, his body weak, his mind aching as he recalled the past few days. Or nightmares, as he'd rather think of them. But he knew they were more real then anything. He saw the storms of the Far Realm bearing down on them, saw Icyklia and Kyhrex calling to him to run, saw the visious battle where Abinak and Xandrek were killed, saw thousands of Soul Marauders attacking Zralk and ripping him to shreds, saw the Soul Eliminator toy with him before hurling him into the void, and lastly saw the crazed Fenrakk Mage holding Ryger, Icyklia, and Kyhrex's limp bodies, and watched the sky explode as the Twilight Void was ripped apart and the crumbling spire and all the combatants vanish into the Far Realms. He and Blast were now totally alone. There were no happy endings this time. The Hand had been destroyed by the White Lightning Division. Above, Eostra had won. Below, the Realms were in choas. The Toa were almost totally quelled. Hopelessness washed over him. Everything had been lost. Nightshade had even killed Arcturas, just to spite Shardak. Nightshade... Shardak hated her. She'd drawn him in to a war against the Corpsians, and even after Arcturas had been restored to him, she'd killed him again with her deadly soul-eating dagger.

But Shardak knew that he couldn't stay like this. He needed to get himself and Blast out of here. Reaching over to his Toa-Brother, he shook at Blast's limp form. The Toa blearily opened his eyes.

"Shardak..." He said.

"Yes, its me." He replied

"You're alive." said Blast. Then he looked shocked.

"Oh Mata-Kyhrex!"

"She's gone." Shardak told him hopelessly. "After you fell, the Fenrakk Mage grabbed her, Ryger, and Icyklia. When the storm struck the tower, they were absorbed."

"Mata Nui no..." Blast gasped in horror. "We are FINISHED. "

"no, we're not." Said Shardak. "We can still win, but we need to survive. We can't do anything if we stay here. We need to find more Toa who can fight. Then, maybe, we stand a chance."

Then a raspy, nasal voice spoke.

"You never stood a chance, rebels" The Soul Eliminator said.

Chapter 1
Soul Marauders! thought Shardak, and cursed. He should have known that the Soul Eaters were near. The Corpse dogs had the ability to track souls. They'd folloewd him here! Three Soul Defenders holding Midak Skyblasters took aim on him. Okay. he thought. ''Kill me. I don't care anymore.''

But the Soul Defenders didn't fire. They simply turned to the Eliminator, who gave a small nod.

"Come Toa." the Eliminator said quietly. "You will join the Eternal Game."

"What-" Shardak gasped, but they all suddenly dematerialized.

When their bodies reappeared, they were standing near the spires of Metru Nui. Many tall beings wearing armor and holding whips were following miserable Matoran slaves.

"What are those beings?" Shardak asked the Soul Eater.

"They are Kodax." he replied. "Follow me."

The Toa walked, surrounded by their enemies, until they came to the Coliseum. It was tall and shining, not at all like the ruins that Shardak remembered. Something was wrong here. Why did the Corpsians not recognize him? What were the beings called Kodax doing here? Did they rule the city now? Surely Metru nui couldn't have fallen to the Corpsians already? He didn't know.

"We are here." The Eliminator snarled, and entered the Coliseum. Shardak gasped.

Within the building, there was a large stage, along with a crowed of Kodax and Toa standing beneath it. Atop the stage stood a tall, gaunt Soul Eater. Standing to one side of him there was a tall, jet armored Kodax. On the other, there was-Nightshade! Rage threatened to overwhealm him. His Toa-Father's murderer stood before him, garbed in an Aspect's black cloak. What was she doing here? But there was no time to ask the Eliminator, for the Soul Eater on the stage spoke in an ancient, twisted voice.

"Greetings, warriors of the Corpse Empire, and welcome, contestents, to the Eternal Games!!"

Maniacal cheering filled the air.

Corpse Empire?! Shardak thought. What has happened?

The Soul Eliminator on the stage began to speak a lot of gibberish in Corpsian, which was greeted by more maniacal cheering. Then Shardak heard a phrase that he recognized.

"...Five thousand years ago, we crushed the Hand of Mata nui..."

So they were in some kind of nightmare future.

"And threw all that rebelled into an ever changing arena to fight forever."

The audience's cries reached fever pitch as the crowd roared and screeched.

"now we will send in more, to replace those that have died."

No...no... thought Shardak desprately. Not us...

"And they will fight, as their forebears fought before them."

The Soul Eater began to read off the names of the other contestents: Kiina, Hahli, Nightwatcher...

A tall toa of Shadow stood as the Eater spoke the name Nightwatcher

Shardak shuddered. The being was visious. He could never fight that.

"...Iruka, Ghost, Kawa, Alloy..."

These four joined two of their other competitors, whom Shardak heard referred to as The Fallen Six. All looked as deadly as nightwatcher.

"...Leviathos, Tetrack, Ixtil, Mersery, Soalaz...

Five more warriors joined the already impressive crowd.

"...One Odina Drone, Brominax, Acrox, Antidax..."

With a start, Shardak realized that three of these were Great Beings. How powerful were these Kodax/Corpse lords, to bring even the primal entities that made the universe under their rule of terror?

...Fairon, Fyxan, Fyxon, Shardak, Blast!" finished the Soul Eater.

Shardak and Blast stood numbly when their names were called.

"Contestents, follow me." ordered a tall Soul Render.

Hopelessness washed over Shardak. They were totally trapped.

And if the Kodax and Corpsians didn't kill them, the other competitors would.

Chapter 2
Fyxan stood in a tall, domed chamber along with the other competitors. Many of them were from his planet, and both foe and friend were standing shoulder to shoulder, hardly waiting to kill each other. But most of all, Fyxan watched the traitor Kodax called Fyxon. Under the influence of a deathly being called Void, he had betrayed them to all to be a spy. The Kodax's eyes switched to Iruka, who looked breathless at the chance to fight in the Games. He, Kawa, Ghost, Kouhiimaru, Naraku, and Alloy formed a group known as The Fallen Six and were allies with two Toa of Light called Ravdev and Lekhop. Fyxan thought it was quite ironic, two Toa joing a group of evil lords, but he said nothing. Other alliances included a group led by Leviathos with Tetrack's Brotherhood of Gigas Magna, and a group led by an alternate "Toa Mata nui. A small group led by a Demo-Makuta called Kojol had forged a larger alliance with a group led by Zaeron. "Ready to be deployed to the Arena." Ordered the Render supervisor. Well, here goes my life. Fyxan thought grimly, as he stepped into a tall metal cylinder. "Just remember." The Soul Eater went on. "In the Arenas, you kill. Or you die." The Soul Eater observed nearly 80 beings, stripped of weapons, ready to leave for a realm of death and devastation.

And only one would ever return.

Shardak felt a rush as the tube tore upward, ready to be deployed into a realm of death. He and Blast had considered joining another group, but in the end decided to fight for themselves only. Besides, there were other beings already there who may team up with them. But Shardak knew he could not win. The Competition was too great.

"We're here." Said Blast grimly as the pod opened. Shardak stepped out-and gasped.

He was standing on a colossal gameboard. A deathly black sky that held but a few feeble stars cast a half-light on the ground. Shardak glanced around at Ravdev and Harlen, the two toa standing nearest to him. They looked equally amazed. Nightwatcher, Ghost, Iruka, and the Skrall leader Tuma did not look the slightest bit fazed. With a roar, nightwatcher ripped apart his glass prison and charged towards the gameboard. Shardak watched Kental's prison open, then Ravdev's, then his and Blast's.

"Go! Run!" Screamed Blast. Shardak charged into the battle. He saw three caches of weapons, arrayed near a central podium. Farther away, tunnels began to open. A visious Lavawight charged toward the central poduim, where the fighting was thickest. Ravdev turned and followed him. Shardak took a breath, then plunged into the battle. Blood and armor splashed all over his body, and all around him, it was impossible to tell who was alive and who was dead. Harlen charged at him, tearing a rip in his arm. Shardak winced in pain, then slashed out. Harlen was a good fighter, but luckily, neather of them had a weapon. Harlen lashed out with a fist, sending Shardak sprawling into the dust. The wild-eyed toa leered at him-then his fist fell to his side, and his shattered body fell to the ground. Shardak spotted Kental, armed with a Shattering Gun, spring away from Harlen's corpse. Ravdev, her face set in a mask of grim determination, charged forward, then gasped. Shardak turned, horrified to see the Toa of Light had fallen into a pool of lava where a square of the board had once been. Shardak saw the Lavawight grab a longspear and ran her through. As her eyes glazed over with death-mist, he ripped out the weapon, and Ravdev collapsed, lifeless, on the ground, her blood mingling with the lava that had insured her death. Two dead before they even reached a weapon's cache.

With a yell, Shardak lept onto the alter, and grabbed a swordblade. It wasn't the Blade of Arcturas, but it would do. A huge Stitched Scion lumbered toward him, swinging a mace. As Shardak was flung from the alter, the Scion's lower half shattered, blown to bits by Iruka, and Nightwatcher lopped off its head. An updated alternate Tahu lept toward the poduim, grabbed a weapon, and dashed into the night. Lewa sprung after him, but Ghost, armed with his Crystal Scythe, ripped him down like a reaper. Lewa lay unconscious, not dead, but Shardak wouldn't bet on him surviving the day. A warrior called Sen charged past Shardak, who raised his blade, but Kawa was quicker. She grabbed the warrior and slashed him open. Sen collapsed backwards, desprately trying to flee, but Lekhop grabbed a Staff of Light and fired a bolt from the tip, killing him. Shardak spotted a toa of Ice called Soalaz flee toward the next weapons cache, where Ixtil and Mersney already stood. Shardak grabbed a second blade and slashed at random in the direction of Soalaz. He thought he saw the Toa go down, and fled. How many have died? Shardak wondered, as the battles at the caches continued. Who knows what tomarrow will bring?

The dark arena held no answer for him.

Snarling, Kojol lept at Nightwatcher, who blocked the attack with one Skrall blade. The force was such that the Demo-Makuta collapsed on the ground. Nightwatcher raised his sword to finish him off when a toa called Vakx lept at him, taking Nightwatcher by surprise. With a swipe of his blade, Nightwatcher slashed open the nuiscence, but Kojol was back on his feet, Zaeron by his side. Kojol fired a swipe of Shadow at Nightwatcher, who blocked it with a powerful burst of his own. Kojol fired again, putting Nightwatcher on the defensive. Zaeron fired a blast of elemental power from his blade, covering the retreat of ther rest of the alliance. Kojol tuirned, ready to follow, before his armor was shattered by a blast of sonic power. "It's shattering time." Kental snarled, readying his gun to fire at Nightwatcher. Suddenly Tuma broke off from the Toa of Fire he was fighting and lept at Kental, taking him down. As blood and armor were ripped apart, Tuma finally was thrown backward, where he fell, lifeless and shattered. Kojol chose the moment to flee, and tore way from the second cache. Acrox sprang forward to continue the fight with Nightwatcher and Kental.

Ixtil was a wise Matoran. Under his guidence, the Matoran had formed a great nation. But now, in the arena fighting alongside Mersney, he worried. He was doomed. Brominax was grappling with Tetrack and Kelvar, a corrupt Toa of Lightning, while Nalek and Zaster were ripping at each other visiously with both blades and elements. With a screech, the currently winged Makuta called Dredzek flew down opon them as they fled toward the third cache. Hahli, Kiina, Kawa, a toa called Pheonix, and the toa of fire that had been fighting Tuma at the battle over the second cache. Ixtil recognized him as Igniter, a visious rogue toa. Dredzek fell into a plunge, ripping at Mersney with his talons. Mersney conjured eight glowing spheres of fire, which detonated on the Makuta's body. His armor melting, Dredzek, snarling, hurled a shadow hand at Mersney, flinging the elder to the ground helpless. Kental, breaking away from the main battle between himself, Nightwatcher, and Kental. Seeing Ixtil undefended, he fired the shattergun. Pain shot through Ixtil's leg as the armor and muscle shattered. Dredzek, breaking apart from his fight with Mersney, grabbed Ixtil, and flung his torn body to the ground. Ixtil gasped his last breaths before his eyes clouded in death.

With a roar of rage, Mersney lept at Dredzek, slashing his body nearly in two. Leaving the dead Makuta on the ground, he charged toward the third cache. He saw Nightwatcher leap after him. Had he killed Acrox and Kental? He saw the remaining combatents turn visious. Most of the fighting was over, with most of the warriors in small deuls around the first and second caches, or fighting at the third. Pheonix slashed Kiina apart. Hahli, Kiina's ally, sprang away from the Pheonix, and electrified Igniter. The stunned Toa staggered into Nightwatcher, who cut his head off. Iruka slashed at Hahli, who dodged, but Kawa grabbed the toa and hurled her lifeless body to the ground.

The Battle was over. and the survivors began to gather the weapons that lay around them.

Shardak heard the voice of the Kodax announcers, announcing the end of the initial battles. Then they listed off the names of the dead. "Hahli, Kiina, Igniter, Raverak, Ixtil, Harlen, Sen, Ravdev, Soalaz, Dredzek, Scion, Altor, Jorbyy, Acrox, Tuma, Vakx." the Kodax listed off the names coldly and clearly. So the first battles are over. Shardak thought. The first days were always the bloodiest, as the contestents fought over the prized weapons. Inspecting the battlefield, He saw Leviathos, Krakanus, an Odina Drone, Tetrack, and a few other contestents pacing the battlefeild, salvaging weapons. So Leviathos' and Tetrack's alliance haad won the battle at the caches. He slunk away into the shadows, keen to avoid detection. As he walked, he pondered the dead contestents. Hahli and Kiina he had seen, but never knew. Kiina, in his universe had been posessed by Gorast in the hybrid wars. He could still see her crazed eyes leering above him, dual Trident ready to strike... Shardak shook his head, trying to shake off the memory. Igniter, Ixtil, Raverak, Dredzek, Altor, Jorbyy and Acrox he had never known. But Harlen he'd seen die a greusome death, shattered by Kental, and Ravdev's death was even worse. And Soalaz...he must have killed him. Shardak realized he'd become a wicked fighter in the past year. He hoped it hadn't changed him. And Blast was still missing. Mata Nui, keep him safe. Shardak thought desprately. And there he remained, sleeping only scantly. Watching for his enemies, who would kill him at the first oppertunity.