Through The Mirror

Through The Mirror is Ahpolki Inika's entry to the Halloween 2013 contest.

Story
So here was Toa Tuyet, floating in the void. Or at least, half of her was. The other half was back in her home dimension, no doubt disposed of by the rebels. Her world, her empire, ruined. All of it brought down by one single Toa. Now she resides in this limbo, fading between life and death. Worse still, she lost her grip on the Nui Stone in her first “Death”. Now it’s floating around in the void, forever out of her reach. She sighed, turning her glance at a series of glass debris. Wait, something moving in it! She “swam” towards the giant shard, placing her hands on its surface. It would be greatest mistake. Suddenly, a swarm of tendrils surrounded her. Ensnared in their grasp, she was unable to prevent herself from being pulled into the looking glass. Death reclaimed her by that point, sparing her of the horrors of the trip. Unfortunately, it couldn't hold onto the madwoman forever.

When she returned to flesh and iron, Tuyet was in for a surprise. The world around her was of black, white, and grey. It was constantly changing, from one of liquid silver to one of ebony stone. Even the natives were changing as well, taking on indescribable forms. In all, this world was a twisted, alien version of Artakha. Two strange figures appeared before her, grabbing her by the arms. The world blurred, and soon she found herself in a new place.

The Toa of Water was in a chamber of somesort, surrounded by more otherworldly architecture. Not so far away was a throne, at least a couple of bio above her. Sitting in it was a cloaked figure, his face hidden beneath a shroud of darkness. Her eyes caught something glimmering in his hand. What shocked her was that it was the Nui Stone. The moment she recognized it, though, the figure vanished. In the hooded one’s place, was a Ta-Matoran.

Or rather, what was left of him. Most of the body was eaten away by magma, the skull melted into a faceless lump. A Ga-Matoran appeared next to him, bearing a gaping hole where the lungs should be. A nonstop water fall of tears ran down her cold corpse. A Le-Matoran faded into reality, his neck bent in an awkward position.

An insectoid figure crawled over to her, pincers snapping reaching towards her body. A frail Turaga of Fire stood at the back of the crowd, his disappointed face painted onto his Noble Hau. Another Turaga was beside him. To her surprises, it was the Turaga of her homeland. She was in an even bigger one when the island’s entire population appeared as well.

The Matoran, living and undead, pounced on the defenseless madwoman, unleashing their fury. She was punched, kicked, bitten, stabbed, and so much more. She screamed as a dagger made its way into her throat, another into her heart, and countless more scarring her body. Yet despite these injuries, she just wouldn't die. They just kept attacking her over and over again.

Alas, not even Death could save her now, not from this lifelike illusion. Yes,  her torturers and every strike she felt were figments of her failing sanity, brought to life by the faceless being. In the past, she was able to hide it from her brothers and sisters. But no secret was safe in this twisted realm. Now and forever, she was a prisoner of her own madness.

Characters
Tuyet (Dark Mirror counterpart)

The inhabitants of The Shattered's realm

The Shattered

A swarm of Matoran (As illusions)

Nidhiki (as an illusion)

Turaga Lhikan (As an illusion)

The Turaga of Tuyet's island (As an illusion)

Trivia
Ahpolki Inika plans on writing an extended and more indepth version of this story once the contest is over.