Whispers in the Dark

Whispers in the Dark is the first story serial in Matoro1's 2011 Storyline. It followed Ghosts of the Past in the Deserts of Death Universe Arc. It is also the first serial in the Fractures story arc.

Chapter 1
The Toa of Air flew across the room. Immediately he wished his flight had been from his own control and not that of the Rahkshi that had thrown him. He smashed into a Stasis Tube with an almighty CRASH then fell into the glass shards. He winced, like a Matoran who had just fallen off his first Hover-Cycle. It felt like he’d been doing that a lot recently. The Toa’s name was Orkahm. He hadn’t been a Toa for very long and didn’t particularly like the experience so far. Why he had been picked to become one was beyond him. He deserved the extra responsibility no more than the next Le-Matoran and actually wanted it even less. Being a Toa was hard, especially when the rest of the world wanted you dead. Orkahm felt a strong arm wrap around his waist. He felt himself being pulled back to his feet and dragged aside by the last remaining member of his Team; Vhisola – The Toa of Water. Their group had originally consisted of eight Toa: himself, Vhisola, Nuhrii, Ehrye, Tehutti, Ahkmou, Saran, and Nuju. However, despite all of their glory from the modern day propaganda, the group had faced problems since its formation. Toa Ahkmou had quickly revealed his true colors and took the life of Toa Nuhrii before escaping the island. They doubted he would have gotten far. The Universe was teaming with all sorts of enemies, just waiting for a Toa to fall into their grasp. Following Zakaz being invaded by Visorak, the Toa had been informed of an old peace treaty between the island of the Skakdi and Metru-Nui – Which meant that in the event of Zakaz being invaded, the City of Legends would supply as group of Toa to help them defend their island. Toa Tehutti had volunteered to be dispatched with several of the remaining Toa Inika to provide aid for the survivors. Their bodies were yet to return to Metru-Nui. Worse still, the second the Brotherhood of Makuta had invaded Bara Magna, Toa Saran - the Team’s only Toa of Light – and Toa Ehrye had rushed off to the Southern Continent to help the Av-Matoran escape the slaughter. No word had arrived concerning either of them. With Toa Nuju having been abducted only a week ago by Brotherhood spies in the city, only Orkahm and Vhisola remained from the original team. It was hard to believe that they had only been Toa for three months. Orkahm was just grateful that he was alive. This world was hungry. Every sleepless night he prayed that it would develop an appetite for something other than Toa. The Toa of Air wheezed as Vhisola brushed the glass shards from his armor in an older-sister fashion. The two Toa limped out of the Chamber and towards the back of the corridor they had entered, managing to escape the Rahkshi. Vhisola dropped Orkahm behind one of the broken display cases. The Toa moaned from the roughness but he knew it was no use telling Vhisola to be gentle. The last Matoran who tried that had ended up with a broken arm. Now she was a Toa she’d probably tear his arm off. “How’s your leg?” she asked. Her voice was full of concern but Orkahm knew it wasn’t for his safety. She only wanted to know whether or not she would have to carry him out after she finished pummeling the Rahkshi. “I can still walk on it, but being smash-thrown across the Archives isn’t exactly heal-helping.” Orkahm muttered in his native Le-Matoran Slang. He had gotten his leg trapped in the machinery of a Ta-Metru Furnace a month ago while chasing a Rahkshi of Heat Resistance through the city. He had survived but his leg was still under stress from the burning. A dangerously high number of nerves had been damaged in the experience. “Whatever,” grumbled Vhisola as she stuck her Mask above the display case. She grunted and retracted immediately. A crude dagger sailed past them and implanted itself in the wall opposite the two Rookie Toa. They both exchanged a confused frown before Vhisola snatched the weapon out of the wall and examined it. It was made from a simple thing, made from bone and flint. The type of weapon that wouldn’t seem out of place in the primeval section of the building they were witnessing the destruction of. They both immediately knew what it meant: Zyglak. Before Orkahm could open his mouth to speak, a beam of Dark Energy skimmed over their makeshift-trench. It singled the wall and left a crisp black mark. The Rahkshi were following them. “Where are the Onu-Matoran?” grunted Vhisola, her fists wrapped around her Water-Forks. “Either messy-splattered across the walls or they somehow miracle-escaped.” replied the Toa of Air. “And it’s look-seeing like we’ll be the fashion-new wallpaper too if we don’t quick-run out of here!” Vhisola nodded solemnly, as if mulling over a plan in her mind. Orkahm fell silent and watched as the cogs rotated in her head. An idea was definitely forming itself in there, but knowing Vhisola it was probably going to involve Cordak Blasters, Explosions, Guns, and other weapons that they did not have. “When I count to three we run towards the wall then duck. If we’re quick the Rahkshi might be able to make a hole in it this time.” “And if not then I’m not-never being your Toa-Battle ram.” Grumbled the Toa of Air. Neither of the Rookies were in a good mood. The fact they had both been up every night for the past week fighting Brotherhood spies across the Island was not helping either. “That’s a double negative,” chuckled Vhisola. “Shut up.” “I’m starting to count now.” “Oh well done, do you want-need a prize-medal?” sneered the Toa of Air. The sleepless nights were starting to eat away at his patience. “Well at least I know whether or not I’m putting my foot in a machine in a Foundry. Honestly, how can a Toa of Air even do that?” “My Jet-Boots weren’t function-working!” “Whatever, we’ve got to get out of here.” Sighed Vhisola. It must have taken a lot of self control for her to simply drop the argument and focus on saving their lives. “When I get to three.” Orkahm nodded and pulled out his Wing Slicers. The two Toa readied themselves to jump forwards. “One,” The Toa bit his lip and tightened his grip on his Weapons. He didn’t want to die, not yet. He was too young. There was so much he had not experienced in life. It seemed like he was about to lose his chance to live through all of that. He could just as easily die as he could survive. As much as he hated to admit it, Vhisola’s plan really depended on the Rahkshi. If they actually hit one of them then there would be one less Toa in the World. “Two,” Orkahm took a deep breath in and flexed the muscles in his legs. He was ready to pounce then fall flat on his face. He had done it a thousand times as a Matoran when his Speeder malfunctioned. He tried to convince himself that this was no different. “Three!” The two Toa jolted forwards, jumped into the air and let themselves skid to the ground. Immediately the room ignited in a flame of Rahkshi Powers. Lasers sizzled through the open chamber and struck the wall. More had obviously united with the original three Rahkshi and Zyglak Tribe. That was not good for the two Rookies. Orkahm stayed on the ground. He heard explosions and what he imagined to be rubble scattering across the Display Room, but there was something else. The Toa raised his Kanohi Matatu, amazed by the gentle warmth. He nearly laughed when he saw Light. A perfectly circular hole had been cut into the wall… and it was pulsing with energy. The Toa of Air frowned and squinted at the circular hole. Ripples of Electrical Energy surged across it, cutting across the diameter and making it vibrate. This was not a hole. This was some kind of portal, the kind of thing he imagined to be in place at a Ko-Matoran Science Convention. His eyes widened as a shape materialized in it. A dark figure burst through the Light and screamed. He was a Shadow Matoran wearing a Kanohi Tryna and sporting an unusually large pair of wings and claw. He immediately recognized the Shadow Matoran as Tollubo, a wanted criminal all over the Matoran Universe. On Stelt the wearing of a Tryna was considered illegal because of this particular Matoran’s actions. While all Immoral Kanohi were now banned in Metru-Nui, Orkahm doubted he’d see this Matoran behind bars any time soon. The Matoran stretched and winced, shaking the steam from his armor and beaming at the Rahkshi. “Oh it’s good to be home.” He chuckled dryly. “Oh, by the way, if you see a couple of Toa chase after me, tell them to book an appointment with my secretary, I’m very busy.” Orkahm frowned and turned back to the Portal. No shapes were materializing yet but Tollubo was taking advantage of the absence of ‘the Toa’ and made a break for the exit. The Rahkshi ignored him, sensing the mark of the Brotherhood on him, and returned their focus to the portal. They aimed their staffs at it and began firing beams of energy. The Rookie Toa’s first thought was to duck for cover and hide. He probably would have done that if he had already lost everything that made him a Toa. Reacting on instinct, he clenched his fist and activated his Air Powers. A chair; which probably would have been used by a security guard, was caught up in the wind and headed towards a Rahkshi of Density Control. Sensing the threat, the Black and Green Rahkshi activating its powers and made the ground beneath it intangible. The Rahkshi slipped down into the ground only to realize that its fellow Rahkshi had followed it. As the ground disappeared beneath their feet, the Rahkshi were literally absorbed into the concrete ground. Acting quickly, the Rahkshi of Density Control deactivated its powers and made the ground solid again: big mistake. The second the ground became solid again, the Rahkshi were torn in half. They had materialized in concrete, which meant their legs could not form and left them fused to the ground. They screamed and hissed before beginning to claw at the ground, unable to move themselves. Staffs clattered to the ground as the Creatures desperately battered away at the concrete. That only left the Zyglak. There was another flash of light and two more figures appeared. Orkahm raised an eyebrow when he noticed their height. They were just about the tallest Toa he had ever seen and were both clad in White and Gold Armor; indicating that they were both Toa of Light. The first one carried a strange three-bladed Lance and wore what looked like a Kanohi Huna. He was the sleeker of the two but was still twice as muscular as Orkahm. Feeling intimidated, the Toa of Air eyed the next figure. He wore a Kanohi Tryna; something he did not expect for a Toa let alone a Toa of Light, and carried a sturdy-looking Sword. He was stocky built and stood larger than the portal he had just emerged from. He also had a nasty-looking chunk of flesh missing from his chest. However painful it was, the Toa showed no sign of the pain Orkahm would have been if he were in the Toa’s position. The Toa of Air glanced at the portal again to see a parade of Matoran and Agori flood into the room. He opened his mouth to protest only to realize that the Rahkshi were all but out of action. Had he just crippled an entire platoon of Rahkshi? Orkahm hadn’t even meant to do anything, he just wanted to distract the Rahkshi by blowing trash, dust, and lose papers in their faces. He was still struggling to use his powers to move objects. This had to be one of the best Rookie moves he had ever seen! Orkahm smiled for a second, thinking of his accomplishment. His grin disappeared when he felt a cold shudder creep up his spine. Vhisola suddenly swore and rolled forwards, thrashing out an arm and yanking him after her. Standing behind the table – which they had backed up against again when the Portal opened – was the largest Zyglak Orkahm had ever seen. It growled in frustration as the table dissolved beneath its Protodermis-Eating infection to reveal its prey had escaped. That explained the cold shudder, but now the tables were turning… Quite literally. Toa Tollubo, Toa of Light, glanced at the sight in boredom. He could only guess that he was in some kind of museum. There were tables, glass displays, and two terrified Toa. He didn’t think much of the Rahkshi-extension to the floor either. When he realized they were real Rahkshi he cracked a smile. He liked seeing the Beasts being put in their place. Perhaps he should clean up before Agitarahk lumbered through the Portal and saw the scene. But something told him the Rahkshi wouldn’t mind... or at least it could be persuaded not to. Perhaps with his fists. Tollubo’s smirk disappeared the second he saw the Zyglak. It was a brute, complete with spiky armor, claws, daggers, and eyes that would make any sane Toa think twice before engaging in a battle. It had been a long time since a sane thought had entered Tollubo’s mind. The Toa’s smile grew as he turned toJollun, his fellow Toa of Light. “Do you want this one or shall I?” “Be my guest.” Smiled the Toa. “Just keep it clean for the Matoran.” “I’ll try.” Laughed Tollubo as he aimed his Sword at the Creature. The gash in his chest stung but he ignored it. He could honestly say he’d had worse. He tried to remind himself that as he blasted the Zyglak in Light. It hissed and screeched in a voice that sounded far too much like a Rahkshi’s for Tollubo’s liking. He grunted before raising his other hand and sending a thin beam of Light at the Zyglak’s thick head. The concentration of Light was a lot higher this time, effective resulting in a laser beam striking the Zyglak’s ugly face. The flash of light sparked, blinding the Creature instantaneously. The Zyglak screamed and thrashed its arms around its head, clawing at the flesh in an attempt to bring its sight back. Tollubo wondered whether or not he should put the monster out of its misery. It didn’t take him long to decide that a life without sight was better than death: That was the easy way out. Tollubo’s satisfaction was short lived. When he looked up he noticed roughly a dozen pairs of blood-red eyes staring back at him. He nudged Jollun and pointed. “Now it’s your turn.” He chuckled. Jollun smiled slyly before raising his Light-Prong. He aimed the weapon and focused a beam of Light. Tollubo watched as it flared into life, sending a burst of Light energy towards the pairs eyes. Before any of their observers could move, the beam of Light struck the wall, illuminating the dark half of the chamber long enough for them to see their viewers. The rest of the Zyglak Tribe. The Toa of Light had been right with his first count. There were in fact twelve Zyglak standing in the corner of the chamber. Twelve angry, disgruntled, and likely hungry Zyglak. Two Toa against twelve monsters was a figure that neither Toa liked. The Toa was about to throw his Sword aside and resort to whatever his Mask Power was when he saw a Kanohi Komau pop up from behind a table. He frowned and examined it. He wasn’t particularly surprised to find that it was attached to a head, but what surprised him was the fact it was a Toa of Water. Back when he had been in the Order of Mata Nui, he had discovered that his organization kept open tabs on every single active Toa – Which wasn’t hard considering the fact there were barely 30 remaining in his Universe. He had spent many a boring evening studying such Toa and, as much as it embarrassed him to think about it, he considered himself an expert on the females in particular… He had been bored. Needless to say, this Komau-Wearer did not match any description that he knew of. If he was in the Archives, in Metru-Nui, in an Alternate Universe, then it was highly probable that she was some sort of ‘Toa Metru’. He had heard of Toa by that title in the past of his Universe. Perhaps there was some difference in destiny in this Universe. Tollubo only took into account the fact that Jollun and himself were not the only Toa in the room when he saw the second new Toa. This one was a Toa of Air – Not a specimen he knew much about. He had a badly twisted leg, wore a Kanohi Matatu, and carried some weird Scaly-Swords. The Toa of Light suddenly understood the odds had slightly improved and that he had forgotten about their presence. Perhaps he would have discovered something else had the Zyglak not picked that moment to throw their swords. Tollubo swore before Jollun slammed into him, sending the two newly-formed Toa falling to the ground. Regardless of how gracefully they handed, neither of them had been impaled by the knives. Tollubo grunted as Jollun rolled off of him. The two Toa crawled across the floor as more daggers whipped through the Air. They both rolled aside to take cover behind a display case, which had been smashed open during the battle. Tollubo yelled for the Matoran and Agori to follow suit and take cover. They did as they were told and dived for the ground. Much to his annoyance, Lothorna stayed standing and brandished her blade. Her eyes blazed with rage as she attempted to perform a run-up then throw her sword. However, Glonor threw his arm out to grab her, causing the Ce-Matoran to trip and fall flat on her Kanohi Ruru. Tollubo winced and turned away, not wanting to see what the Warrior-Matoran would do to Glonor for embarrassing her like that. Instead he turned to find Betak crawl to his side then press her back against the display case. “I don’t think much of this Universe’s Welcoming service.” She muttered. “What are those things anyway?” “Zyglak.” Answered Tollubo as he raised his Mask above the display case. He lifted a hand to brush away the remains of an ancient stone display. “They’re what we call ‘Rahi’.” “Actually,” interrupted Jollun, “They’re not Rahi. Rahi tend to leave scraps when they attack.” “I know,” muttered the Toa of Light. “But I didn’t think there would be any this far North.” “Maybe that’s true in our Universe, but this is a completely different Reality.” Answered Jollun. “According to your Alternate-Buddy, Teridax never existed in this Universe. Who knows how that can affect the World.” “True,” nodded Tollubo. “But we’ve still got to stop about twelve of these things, and from what I hear Zyglak like killing Toa almost as much as they hate them.” “Well I guess they’re going to have to skip lunch today because I’m not on the menu.” Smiled Jollun as he clenched his fingers into fists. His hands started to hum as sparks of light began to converge around his knuckles. When two orbs of Light materialized from the sparks Jollun rose above the display case and crossed his fists over his chest. Tollubo’s first thought was that his friend had lost his sanity. No sane Toa would stand up, in front of a hail of knives, and provoke a Zyglak. The chances were that the creatures would take one look at him then make their goal in life to tear his head off. The Toa of Light could only let his jaw drop and marvel at his friend’s tactics. Jollun tore his arms from his torso and let them fly out above his head. Light blasted from his fingers at different angles. Light bounced off of the walls, striking the display cases with Lasers. The raw Light Energy rebounded off of the surface and struck more display cases. Jollun’s Kanohi Huna became darkened as his frown deepened through concentration. Making sure that the numerous lasers didn’t strike one of their allies was hard. Bending a speeding Laser Beam was harder still. Finally, after the Light Orbs had bounced across nearly every surface in the room, one of them struck a Zyglak in the chest. While the Light had been dense when it bounced off the glass it had suddenly become hard enough to knock the Zyglak to the ground and burn a hole in its armor. The creature screamed as the intensity of the ray seared away it is flesh. Tollubo watched in awe as more Lasers struck the other Zyglak. Armor was scarred, eyes were blinded, and flesh was burnt. A total of four Zyglak fell to the ground screaming and thrashing at themselves in hopes of easing the pain. Whatever number of wounded creatures remained quickly tucked their tails between their legs and limped off, back into the Shadows, dragging their fallen brethren with them. Silence hung in the chamber for a long moment as Jollun remained tense. After a short while, Tollubo laughed and began to clap his hands. The Toa rose to his feet then stepped forwards to pat his friend on the back – Partially because he deserved it, but mostly because nobody else was clapping with him. “This is the best way to see museums. It gets it over with so much quicker!” he chuckled. Jollun allowed Tollubo to pat his back only to brush his friend’s hand off and extend a fist. He cracked a friendly smile. Tollubo followed suit and clanked his best friend’s fist. It was hard to believe that he had once tried to kill Jollun when they first met. It was only then that Tollubo remembered he had once again forgotten about the other two Toa as they emerged from their hiding place stiffly, as if they both expected another knife to come flying through the air. When they were certain that was not the case, they turned to face Tollubo and Jollun. The Toa of Water spoke up first, the Toa of Air seemed too shy. “Right,” she sighed “Although that would be considered ‘Breaking-and-Entering’ in this city, I’ll overlook that and welcome you over here.” “And where exactly is ‘over here’ supposed to be?” pressed Tollubo as he stepped forwards. Both of them easily towered over the Toa of Water and Toa of Air. “Let me guess, different dimension?” she snorted. Tollubo was impressed. “Pretty much.” He muttered as he inspected the chamber. “And this would be… hopefully nothing important?” “Relax.” Sighed the Toa of Water. “It’s been wrecked for months. Nobody really cares to be underground during a bio-quake again.” “You should get a Toa of Earth around here then.” Shrugged Tollubo. “I hear they’re good with stopping those.” “Well, Toa aren’t exactly available by order anymore. As far as I know all of the Toa of Earth are dead now.” Tollubo raised an eyebrow then glanced at Jollun. He looked just as surprised. The two Toa of Light decided to stay professional and returned to the Toa of Water. “Exactly how many Toa are left in this Universe then?” asked Jollun. “That we know of? About… six.” Tollubo decided to throw being professional aside and let his jaw snap off of his Kanohi Tryna. “There are only six Toa left alive?” he spluttered. “Please tell us that we’re not included in those six.” gawped Jollun. The Toa of Water shrugged, as if it was something that she heard every day. “You have a lot to learn, but you could become a useful ally.” She paused before circling the two Toa of Light to inspect their armor, muscles, and weapons. When she had finished two complete circuits of the two massive Toa she nodded slowly then turned to the Toa of Air. “What do you think Orkahm? Do you think the High Council will be impressed with these two?” The Toa of Air nodded slowly before Tollubo realized that was his name. Orkahm shifted and gestured towards the Matoran. “Please forgive me, our Universes are obviously very weird-different, but your Agori friends may fall-run into some bad-trouble here.” “And why’s that?” snarled Tollubo as he stepped forwards to intimidate Orkahm. The shy Toa of Air backed off and raised his hands. “I’m just speak-saying, most of the Agori in this Universe were imprison-captured and mutated by the Brotherhood. We still managed to save-protect a few but a lot of Matoran are start-beginning to dislike them. I’m just warn-giving you a head’s up.” “Noted.” Growled the Toa of Light before relaxing. Orkahm was no threat, he was just trying to warn them and, frankly, Tollubo was beginning to grow bored with Agori-Hating Societies. An awkward silence hung before Jollun stepped forwards and broke it. “So what’s your name?” he asked the Toa of Water. Tollubo rolled his eyes and snorted before nudging his fellow Toa of Light in the chest. The Toa of Water ignored the gesture and kept her Komau void of emotion. She had obviously had some sort of military training to develop a face as neutral as that. “Toa Vhisola.” She stated. Tollubo half expected a salute but Vhisola knew they were all Rookie Toa. They all ranked about the same and he doubted she’d care to confirm that. “Well, my name’s Tollubo and this is – ” The Toa of Light was surprised to see Vhisola’s eyes widen in shock. He trailed off to see her glanced at Orkahm. He looked like he had just seen a Muaka Bull charge at him. The two Rookie Toa exchanged a quick glance then made their tackle. They rammed into Tollubo with a force that both winded him and sent the three of them crashing to the ground. Orkahm made a grab for his wrists while Vhisola ended up pinning him down. Before Tollubo could move the Toa of Water had fastened a chain around his wrists. When he continued to struggle she snarled and landed a punch right in the middle of the gash in his chest. The Toa of Light buckled and swore before he rolled onto his side, shielding his wound from further battering. “Toa Tollubo, you are under arrest for mass-murder.” She snarled. “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say may be used as evidence against you. Any resistance will be noted. Do you understand these rights?” She spoke clearly and she didn’t say any of it from a card. It seemed like Vhisola knew what those words meant when she said them and also that she had arrested people before. She seemed very much in control. Tollubo was about to change that. “Honey, if you wanted me on the ground like this all you had to do was ask.” chuckled Tollubo as he brushed Vhisola aside then rolled to his feet. “Now listen to me, you’ve got the wrong Toa… or Matoran in this case.” “Tollubo is quite a famous name over here.” Snarled Vhisola as she whipped out two Tridents. “There was a Tollubo who was charged with assassinating Turaga Jovan, a Tollubo who torched an entire Stelt Port, and a Tollubo who is suspected in the murder of Toa Tahu, Toa Varian, and the disappearance of Toa Watak.” “Like I said,” sneered the Toa of Light as he gritted his teeth and forced his arms apart, breaking the chain and freeing himself. “You’ve got the wrong guy. Plus, as a whole lot of dead Makuta can tell you, don’t make an enemy out of me.” Vhisola held her ground then glanced at Orkahm. He looked doubtful. “We should at least take him to the High Council first. That way we can just dump him and leave him as their problem.” Vhisola nodded slowly before putting her Tridents away. “Very well, we’ll take you to the Coliseum to meet the High Council. We’ll let them decide your fate. You can’t be too different from… yourself.” “Really? Another Coliseum? How clichéd.” Snorted Tollubo as he packed his Sword away. “All right then, lead on. I’ve always wanted to see Metru-Nui.” “You talk too much.” Grunted Vhisola. “Well duh! How else do you think I stay sane?” “I’m Jollun by the way.” Implored the Toa of Light. “Don’t suppose I’m in any trouble am I?” Again Vhisola and Orkahm’s eyes widened. “Quite the contrary.” Muttered Orkahm as he gestured towards the corridor, indicating they should move. “Half of Metru-Nui worships you.” “Well it’s about time.” Laughed Jollun as he nudged Tollubo. The two Toa of Light grinned before returning their attention to Vhisola and Orkahm. Tollubo was about to say something when several Matoran spilled into the chamber. There were about fifteen of them in total, about ten were Onu-Matoran while the rest were other types. They all carried harsh flash-lights which stung his eyes. He hadn’t stood sunlight in over two months. Walking in the street was going to hit him like a brick wall. From the newcomers, one of the younger Onu-Matoran – who wore a Kanohi Mahiki - rushed forwards to face Orkahm and Vhisola. He took one look at the dead Rahkshi then shuddered. “I guess we’re a little late then?” he shivered, unable to look Vhisola in the eye. “Memel! I gave you specific orders to evacuate. At no point did I tell you to form a rescue party!” she shouted. The Onu-Matoran flinched and took a step back. Tollubo half expected the Toa of Water to grab him by the audio-receptor and drag him off. He wasn’t far off. From what he had seen so far, Tollubo doubted he would be blamed for thinking that the Fractures Universe was somewhat strange. He had probably decided that the second he entered it to find a welcoming party of two scared-stiff Toa, a platoon of Rahkshi, and a tribe of Zyglak. Perhaps it was going to get better from now on. It had to. Now that he had left his own Universe he no longer had a place in it, none of them did. They couldn’t just go back, they were trapped. They were stuck here, in the midst of a war. There was no longer a place for any of them back in their own world. But Tollubo knew that he would only be endangering the Matoran and the Agori if they stayed here. Yet that didn’t change the fact that he had a duty to fulfill but it meant that they would have to face the danger. War was a terrible thing. All the Toa of Light wanted was for his friends to survive it. Even then he knew that didn’t seem likely.

Chapter 2
The first thing that Tollubo noticed when he stepped out of the Archives was the city of Onu-Metru. However, what he felt was very different. He had always thought of Metru-Nui as an island full of Matoran who were oblivious to what was happening in their Universe. They just seemed to continue their lives and shrug when he would be out, running for his life. One day he would be trying to outrun a mutated three-headed Rahkshi, the next it would be a Visorak Swarm, it didn’t really seem to matter. The Matoran of Metru-Nui knew nothing of what he had to go through to survive. They were happy living in their idealistic bubble of a city, watering plants and waving at neighbors while confident that the worst part of their life would be falling behind in taxes. Nobody ever thought to attack such a peaceful place. That was probably because Tollubo managed to stop them before they got passed Stelt. Perhaps he had just been jealous. Yet what Tollubo saw before him made him cringe in guilt. He could see sand bags piled high around huts and dwellings. Pieces of Rahkshi Armor were littered across the streets. Cordak and Nektann Blasters were mounted to towers. Blood-Stained Barbed Wire lay scattered with the occasional unfortunate Visorak tangled in it. Onu-Matoran stood to attention, brandishing Electro-Cannons, knives, Combat Staffs, Kanoka Disk Launchers, and axes. They wore thick but battered armor that was pitted and scarred from constant exposure to other blades and burns. Even the Agori behind them silenced and crowded in closed, anxious of the sinister Agori-disliking soldiers. The Toa of Light was almost impressed. Onu-Matoran were masters of inner-strength and patience. He always imagined them as artists. Some of the Universe’s greatest painters were Onu-Matoran. He held a great respect for the Matoran of Earth. The fact that there were no more Toa of the Element saddened him. The Toa of Light stole another glance at the fortifications. They were truly impressive. Somebody had obviously planned the renovation of the city into a fortress a long time ago. Judging by the use of concrete and the alignment of the sandbags he could tell it was a typical Order defense. It looked like he had missed the Order emerging from secrecy to become a concrete distributer. Tollubo turned to look at Jollun. The expression on his Kanohi Huna was unreadable but his eyes were alive with knowledge. He had never asked Jollun about what it had been like to be a Toa in the early days of the Matoran Universe. From what he had seen in the Archives Jollun was definitely well trained, if a little rusty. It would seem awkward asking his friend to train him but it seemed like it was inevitable. If Vhisola was correct, and there were only six Toa left in this Universe, then finding a trainer was going to prove difficult. Something began to pester the Tryna-Wearer, something about his surroundings. He tried to lay a finger on what it was. He decided to widen his gaze and re-inspect the Onu-Matoran. The Toa was surprised to find that the Matoran were becoming more relaxed as they moved deeper into the city. Several Matoran were already beginning to pack away the sandbags, roll up the barbed wire, and move the dead bodies. Although the sky remained grey, the Matoran appeared to have brightened the mood. One particularly adventurous Onu-Matoran even approached the group to shake hands with Shylock then pat him roughly on the back before running off and cheering about victory. “What’s going on?” asked Tollubo. “We’re in the middle of a war, why are they packing everything up?” Vhisola grunted before grabbing one of the cheering Onu-Matoran and ordering him to spread a rumor about some Rahkshi army attacking Artahka. Shaken, the Matoran nodded before disappearing into the crowd. “They hear-think that the war’s over.” Answered Orkahm. “We haven’t suffer-had a Rahkshi-Beast attack in a while-time. They’re ready to finish-stop with the battle-fighting.” “Has anyone given them orders to do that?” frowned Jollun. “Nope.” Muttered Vhisola. “We’ve had to rely on spreading lies about Rahkshi armies invading other islands. But it’s not working. Metru-Nui and Artakha are the only two islands in the Universe that haven’t been breached by the Brotherhood’s armies. We’re doing everything we can to keep them focused. We’re manipulating the media, publicizing spies being captured, and spreading rumors about Rahkshi attacks. We’re even controlling the weather to stop them from celebrating too much.” “That explains the clouds.” Frowned Tollubo. “How are you doing that?” Vhisola snorted. "That’s something even a Matoran who had spent the last century in a cave, on Artidax, with their eyes closed and hands over their ears would know. Metru-Nui’s sitting on top of the Core Processor, which is the central processing unit of the entire Matoran Universe. Push a few buttons down there and half of the Southern Island Chain goes up in smoke. The least we can do is make it cloudy, even Orkahm and I can do that.” “So you’re letting the Matoran live in fear?” pressed Jollun. “If it works.” Shrugged Vhisola. “I’m pretty sure there’s something about this in the Toa Code.” chuckled Tollubo. Nobody laughed. Seeking to break the silence with another question, Tollubo spoke up. “So where are you taking us to anyway?” “To our local Turaga.” Answered Vhisola. “Plus we thought you might want to see what happened to you, Toa Jollun.” Tollubo frowned and glanced at his fellow Toa of Light, unsure as to why she was speaking to him when he had not been the one to voice the question. “And where am I in this Universe?” asked Jollun anxiously. “In the Coliseum.” “Is that where I live?” “Not exactly,” smiled Vhisola sadly. She slowed down before pointing towards the building in the distance. “I guess it’s your tomb.” Metru-Nui’s Coliseum was one of the most magnificent buildings Tollubo had ever seen. It towered over the city’s skyline, its sleek metallic structure slicing through the sky, like a sword. It dwarfed every other building in sight. From what the Toa had learnt while in the Order of Mata Nui, this very building sat atop the Core Processor. That make it a type of crown, an idea that sounded fitting considering it was Jollun’s Tomb. Tollubo doubted his final resting-place would be much bigger. When he died he wanted to be left in the ground to decay, to return to the elements he had been born against. He doubted he would ever be able to chose how he died, that would defy the whole point of being killed – which was probably how he was going to die in the end. Today had not been a good day for Tollubo in terms of grasping the obvious. It had only just struck him that he was actually inside the building when a pair of lift doors shut before him. The maximum-weight signs made him feel uneasy. He had to wait for all of the Matoran and Agori to ascend with Orkahm and Vhisola before him and Jollun were allowed in. Not something that did wonders for his self-esteem. “So what do you think of this place?” asked Tollubo as he turned to his fellow Toa of Light. “I think that we were meant to be led here.” Answered Jollun, his voice as cold and serious as death. “How so?” “If we weren’t then we wouldn’t be here. Why do you think the portal opened exactly at the point when you were about to gut –” Jollun trailed off. Tollubo knew what he was going to say. The eyes of both Toa widened as a sudden thunderbolt of realizing what they had overlooked struck them both. Tollubo swore. “He escaped!” groaned Jollun. “Almost like his return was planned.” The mood sunk as the two Toa tried to think of something other than their failure. They had just let the most wanted Matoran in the Matoran Universe escape. Vhisola had told Tollubo that he was wanted for mass-murder in this Universe. What was to stop his Counterpart from taking more innocent lives as they spoke? Tollubo tried to take his mind off of the subject by studying the screen above the lift directory. The numbers meant nothing to him. He only noticed that there were a lot of them, too many for him to care about. “But we can still find him.” Suggested Jollun, trying to raise the mood as the lift began to slow down as it reached the top of the building. “It’s possibly why we’re here. Plus he can’t have gotten far.” Tollubo stared at Jollun as the doors opened. “I seriously doubt that.” he grunted before stepping out into the chamber. Having both had experience in barging into throne-rooms uninvited, the two Toa began their stride into the room. The Matoran and Agori were chatting amongst themselves quietly. Some of the Av-Matoran were pointing at two Toa – who were standing in the room. Tollubo recognized them both immediately: Toa Lhikan and Toa Hagah Kualus. The two Toa of Light continued walking until they were mask-to-mask with Lhikan and Kualus. Tollubo sensed an aura of professionalism as they approached yet was disappointed to find they were only slightly taller than Orkahm and Vhisola. Lhikan wore sleek yet dull red and gold armor. Kualus was slightly more bulky and muscular wearing traditional white and silver armor. Both Toa appeared to have seen better days. Their eyes were dark and their brows were creased in a way that one could only achieve after years of worry and doubt. Neither of the two Toa seemed happy about being there. They would probably have been dragged over to the chamber from other assignments. It felt good to have such an audience. Aside from Lhikan and Kualus, Tollubo was surprised to see so few new Masks among the crowd of Matoran and Agori who he had brought with him. Memel was present, as were Orkahm and Vhisola. They seemed to be talking to each other on the other side of the chamber. When he glanced at them they immediately looked away. The Toa turned his attention back to Lhikan and Kualus. They were running their eyes over him and Jollun. Unlike the two Rookie Toa, they did not turn away when Tollubo looked at them. “A Tryna?” muttered Kualus darkly. “They’re supposed to be illegal.” “Got a problem with my face?” grunted Tollubo as he flexed his muscles. Kualus only shrugged, his eyes remained dull and unfocused from lack of sleep. He probably had more threatening nightmares in the little time he had to sleep in. “Depends if you call that a face.” muttered Lhikan. He too looked exhausted. Both Toa seemed resigned, as if their moment of action had come and gone. Tollubo grunted and accepted Kualus’ point. He hadn’t seen himself in a mirror since he had become a Toa but he knew he’d be heart-broken if he had lost his devilish good-looks. “Two Toa of Light.” murmured Kualus as he tilted his head back. “What we would have given for you to be here two days ago when we actually needed you.” “What happened here?” asked Jollun. “… Aside from the war.” “You happened.” answered Kualus. “You died yesterday in our reality, giving your life to lock the Matoran Universe. Anything south of Metru-Nui is just burnt ruins.” “Well, we had our own problems.” answered Tollubo in a sigh. “So why have we been brought here? Vhisola mentioned a Turaga.” “He likes to be fashionably late.” groaned Lhikan. “He’s got a meeting with a representative of the Matoran Resistance of the Northern Continent. They want to pull out of the war and violate an Alliance Treaty that he put in place.” “Isn’t the war over now that the Brotherhood’s locked out?” frowned Tollubo. “Do you think a couple of layers of metal are going to stop the entire Brotherhood of Makuta?” “I thought that Metru-Nui and Artakha are the last two resisting islands. You said everything else was torched.” “That’s why they’re not a very strong resistance.” “Exactly why we skipped the negotiations and shredded the Treaty.” added a familiar voice from the other end of the room. Tollubo recognized it immediately but couldn’t be sure. It was riddled with age and was hoarse from centuries of speaking. The four Toa snapped their heads towards the direction of the voice. Tollubo saw three smaller beings enter the room. The first was a Le-Matoran guard. He carried a long grey staff and wore a green Komau. He appeared to be some sort of guard. Behind him were two Turaga. Similarly to the two Toa before them, one was a Turaga of Fire while the other was a Turaga of Ice. From Tollubo’s knowledge of the Matoran Universe, he was able to tell that the Turaga of Fire was Turaga Vilnius, the former leader of the Tren Krom Peninsula in his Reality. He was famed for his fiery temper and crooked nature. More than a dozen Matoran had been banished to Karzahni in his first few months in office, something that had once shocked Tollubo seeing as it was common knowledge by that time that the Matoran would not return from the realm. Tollubo glanced at the Turaga’s Noble Hau and Hook-Staff. Many legends stated that the Turaga’s weapon had been fashioned out of a Muaka Bull’s Horn, a creature who he had killed as a Toa. Looking at the Staff now, he could easily tell that it was a fake. The Turaga probably had no idea about the legends, meaning it would probably be what was left of Vilnius’ Toa Tool. Tollubo almost preferred the legend. The final being was not one who he recognized as a Turaga. However, his name came straight to Tollubo’s mind and he cracked a smile as he saw his old friend. Turaga Matoro. “Matoro!” laughed the Toa of Light in surprise. His joy disappeared when it dawned on him that he had never met Matoro in this Universe. If he had the Turaga would probably have been killed. Instead of answering the Turaga of Ice leaned on his staff and listened to Vhisola as she explained the situation to him. After about a minute of details as to why he wasn’t going to be torn to shreds by the Toa of Light in front of him, Matoro nodded and turned to Vilnius. “It appears two Toa have just arrived in our Universe, one of them being an Alternate Tollubo who claims to be on our side of the war. Any ideas Oh-Great-Advisor?” The Turaga of Fire glanced from Tollubo to Jollun, which disappointed Tollubo. Matoro was clearly talking to his advisor. The fact Vilnius responded to that title meant he was of lower status that the Turaga of Ice. He had respected Vilnius in the past. Seeing him as an underling was almost painful. “It seems that he knows you as a friend in his Reality. Even so, I don’t think we should take the chance.” grunted Vilnius as Tollubo’s Heart-Light dimmed. “We just came out of one war, he’ll probably drag us back into another. If other resistances were to learn we were housing the Brotherhood’s most renowned killer then they’d sever support and cut us off.” “Remind me not to get you anything for Naming Day.” grumbled Tollubo, trying to disguise the lump in his throat. The fact Vilnius had spoke of him like that made him feel guilty, as if it were his fault that his Alternate Self had become evil. They couldn’t be that different at heart, meaning Vilnius had a point. “What do you two think?” Matoro mulled the question over in his mouth before glancing at Kualus and Lhikan. “I think this is either a joke or a distraction.” answered Lhikan. Luckily for him his arms were crossed – Tollubo probably would have torn them out of his sockets if they hadn’t. “What are the chances they’d appear exactly one day after we lock the Brotherhood out?” Matoro sighed. “Lhikan, how many times do you have to be told? There cannot be any more distractions. The entire island is fortified and, in case you haven’t noticed, we’re an island that’s probably sticking out of Bara Magna’s atmosphere. Even if the Brotherhood manages to get inside this metal juggernaut the other islands would be able to spot an attack force. The last thing these two are going to be is a distraction.” “So do you want to wait for the High Council to assemble before you decide their fate?” asked Kualus. “We don’t need to wait for a bunch of Matoran.” grunted Matoro. “Carnac, fetch me my Kanohi Rode.” The Le-Matoran guard nodded before turning to leave the room. He eyed Tollubo darkly before exiting. A few moments later, he returned carrying a white Kanohi Rode. The chamber must be some sort of ‘Kanohi-Closet’. Tollubo wouldn’t mind owning one of those himself. Matoro thanked Carnac then handed the mask to Kualus. The Toa of Ice took off his Mask of Rahi Control and donned the Rode before glaring at Tollubo. “How did you get here?” he demanded. “Well, you’re really asking two questions there.” sidetracked Tollubo. He didn’t like Kanohi Rodes. Makuta Karabak had worn one and ruined the whole ‘truth’ effect the mask had once had on him. “The first question being the circumstances of us leaving our original Universe, the second, assuming the entire thing was in my control, how I arrived.” Kualus remained silent, his eyes staring directly into Tollubo’s. “Anyway, I have no clue. One minute I’ve freed a species of Matoran and saved the enitre Universe, the next a portal appears, I have to chase my Counterpart through, and some unfortunate Matoran has to cancel my ‘Thank-you-for-saving-the-Universe!’ party. I don’t know who made the portal, I don’t know why. I can only assume it was to get my Counterpart back here.” “Your ‘Counterpart’?” frowned Kualus. “He was already in my Universe. I witnessed him come through about a week ago. I assume I can blame that on you guys?” “Don’t digress.” mumbled the Toa of Ice. Tollubo could feel the presence of Kualus’ mind as he scanned his own. “What can you tell?” asked Matoro, genuine concern in his voice. The Turaga appeared torn. “He’s got a mental shield and he’s also telling the truth” grunted the Toa of Ice, as if Tollubo speaking the truth was secondary to the fact that he could not read his mind as easily as the next target. “However he came here, he doesn’t know. Plus, if he’s been trained by the Order to have mental-shielding, then I’ll bet he was on our side in his Universe.” The Toa of Ice took another look into Tollubo’s eyes then turned back to Matoro. “I think we should trust him.” “Good enough for me.” muttered the Turaga. “If he’s not a threat then he can stay.” “Who says he’s planning on staying?” asked Vilnius. Tollubo glanced from Matoro to Vilnius to Kualus; who had taken the Rode off and handed it back to Carnac. “Well I haven’t exactly got a Universe full of un-destroyed places to head off to.” snorted the Toa of Light. “I’m staying here to help you guys catch my Counterpart. So – knowing how great I am at hide-and-seek – could take a while, which means I’ll need a job, and it sounds like you need all the Toa you can get right now. Why can’t you hire me to protect the city while I’m here? Give me one good reason.” Matoro and Vilnius exchanged glances. Vilnius addressed him. “What is your name, Toa?” “Tollubo.” “Exactly. If the Matoran hear that they’ll run for the hills. There would be riots in the street, we could lose our jobs, and word will spread about you.” “Okay then, two good reasons.” sighed the Toa of Light. “Give me two good reasons.” “We don’t know anything about you.” answered Matoro in a lighter tone, like a game of good-cop bad-cop. “No?” frowned Tollubo. He suddenly felt an adventurous gleam appear in his eyes as his reckless nature kicked in. Words began to form in his head as he spoke. “Okay then, I’ll start from the top. My name is Toa Tollubo, I’m dimensionally displaced from a Universe where a Makuta called Teridax corrupted the Brotherhood a long time ago, I was trained by the Order of Mata Nui, I once had both of my hands cut off by a Makuta, I am a bearer of the Kanohi Ignika, I hate competitive sport, and my favorite food is this type of battered fish they only sell on Stelt.” The Toa paused, partly for breath but mostly to see the startled faces of the four beings in front of him. Even Jollun seemed unnerved. He was just getting started with his list of strange self-facts. “I don’t understand Chemistry – ''What is chemistry? '' I prefer Stelt to Xia, I’m terrified of diseases and of gravity suddenly switching itself off, I once got Toa Zaria’s autograph, my first proper relationship was with a Matoran of Lightning named Chiara, I absolutely hate the Kanohi Kau Kau, and I have never visited Nynrah. I’ve been stabbed more times than I care to remember, I once punched Makuta Tridax into a tree, I’ve never met a Toa of Plantlife, and I’ve spent the last week thinking I was about to die.” Lhikan and Kualus exchanged nervous glances, worried about the sanity if the Toa before them. Vilnius’ eyebrows rose in concern. Matoro looked intrigued. “What’s your favorite color?” shrugged the Turaga of Ice sarcastically. “That would be burnt-sienna.” answered Tollubo. “It’s a kind of orangey-brown that I think has a funny name. But that’s not the point. I know that this is probably going way too fast for a sane person to deal with but I am sick of moving slowly through life, I want to put myself out there and do something that people will remember me. I don’t want people in this Universe to think of me like my Counterpart, I’m nothing like him and I think I deserve the right to clear my name.” Again, Tollubo paused for breath, this time genuinely because his lungs were burning. “So what do you say? Can Jollun and I get jobs here?” There was a length of silence. Tollubo felt Kualus, Lhikan, and Vilnius staring at him awkwardly. Matoro seemed to be smiling. “I’d give you the job if it meant you’d shut up.” chuckled the Turaga, as if it were a private joke. He suddenly grew serious and businesslike. “But still, as much as you deserve the right to clear your name, Vilnius does have a point. At the first sound of the name ‘Tollubo’, Matoran will panic.” “Can’t you just make a public address to them and explain I’m different?” “That’s what I’m going to do.” muttered Matoro. Lhikan suddenly tensed and turned to face the Turaga. “Are you sure that’s a good idea, Turaga? We don’t need him here, we’ve won the war! Why don’t we just ask Artahka to make him an Olmak and send him on his way?” Matoro opened his mouth to answer but Tollubo silenced him by raising his hand. “Let me answer that one.” grunted the Toa of Light as he took a step further towards Lhikan. The Toa of Fire only glared defiantly into his eyes. “Firstly, you do need me here. After every conflict there is turmoil. The Brotherhood will still want the war to continue, you locking them out hasn’t ended anything. You’ll only be making them angry. The first thing they’ll do when they get inside the Matoran Universe is head for Metru-Nui. If they invade that then they can control the entire Matoran Universe and use it in their future empire – Which is what I’m assuming they want. Am I correct?” “As far as we know.” answered Matoro. Lhikan’s eyes grew darker with anger. “Secondly, I think there’s a reason I was brought here. I don’t know what it is yet but I‘m willing to bet my sword that it’s to capture my Counterpart. Therefore, I’m not leaving until I’ve done that. If you came to my Universe and found out you died over a century ago then what would you do?” Lhikan fell silent. He continued glaring at Tollubo for several agonizingly long seconds then nodded slowly. “I’ll let you know right now that I don’t trust you as far as I could throw you, but I suppose that if we can’t trust a Toa of Light then we can’t trust anybody.” “Was that a reference to my weight?” snarled Tollubo. The Toa of Fire’s eyes widened and he stepped back as Tollubo growled. After a brief moment of watching Lhikan quiver in fear, Tollubo extended an arm and patted the Toa on the shoulder. “Kidding.” he chuckled darkly. Before anyone could comment on Tollubo’s behavior, the conversation was interrupted by the lift doors. The room fell silent as an Onu-Matoran entered. There was nothing particularly special about him. He wore a Kanohi Komau, had a short axe strapped to his back, and – similarly to Lhikan and Kualus – had an aura of professionalism. The only difference was that he seemed cheerful and upbeat. He strode forwards with energy and a spring in his step. The Onu-Matoran took one look around the room, as if searching for others, then addressed Matoro. “I’m guessing I’m early?” “You are the first one to arrive.” nodded Matoro. The Turaga turned to Tollubo and Jollun. This is Dessal, the Chief Archivist. He literally owns the Archives. He is Onu-Metru’s Representative in my High Council.” Tollubo nodded towards the Matoran. Jollun followed suit by nodding in a similar fashion. Neither of them intended to shake hands. That would involve them both having to bend over or literally sit on the floor to reach Dessal’s height. Not good for their image. After learning the others had not arrived, Dessal turned to leave. Tollubo felt like he was alienating the Matoran. He didn’t like doing that – or at least he didn’t think so. Perhaps he had changed a little through his transformation into a Toa. He had intimidated both Orkahm and Lhikan in the few short hours he had been in the Universe. Did he really need others to quiver before he could feel good about himself? “So you never  joined the Brotherhood in your Universe?” asked Kualus as he cocked a questioning eyebrow. “I was forced to.” lied Tollubo. “But I quit shortly after I learnt they went corrupt. Then I joined the Order.” “Which would explain the mind-shielding.” added Matoro. The Turaga of Ice was definitely on his side of the argument. “So you’re an Order agent?” pressed Vilnius. Tollubo could tell that the Turaga of Fire had also had a change of heart. While he obviously remained skeptical, some of the heat had been taken from his question. “I was a servant because I was a Matoran back then.” corrected Tollubo. “What happened in the War in your Universe.” “We lost.” shrugged Tollubo simply. “Everyone lost. The entire world went up in flames at the claw of an insane Makuta.” “But you just said you saved the Universe.” grunted Lhikan. “What was all that trash about having a party?” “Not the Matoran Universe, I barely made it out of that one. I meant the actual universe. We stopped an insane Makuta from converting Matoran into Makuta and using them to conquer entire civilizations. Basically, we’re heroes.” chuckled Tollubo as he patted Jollun on the back. “Who was this insane Makuta?” asked Matoro. “Karabak.” answered Tollubo. He didn’t expect a reaction, the Makuta had been imprisoned by Jollun shortly after the Matoran Universe was created. He didn’t even know him until a few months ago. The Toa of Light was confused as all four of the beings in front of him tensed. “Do you know him?” “That doesn’t matter.” grunted Vilnius, his brow creasing. “We don’t speak about him anymore.” added Matoro. “If you defeated that monster then you are welcome here as heroes.” “What exactly did he do here?” asked Jollun. The two Toa of Light glanced at each other in confusion. Tollubo was unsure what Karabak’s presence meant. Somebody else must have freed him or Jollun must never have imprisoned him. That meant the Matoran of Tethys wouldn’t exist in this Reality. A shame, but not something that would worry Tollubo too much. “He murdered Toa Helryx.” answered Kualus. “He tore her apart and tortured her. Her feet and hands were pulled off but still connected to her. He nailed them across a wall then left her to bleed. Then he hacked her chest open and poured acid into her circuits. He kept her alive for three days, letting her bleed to death slowly before he finally slit her throat. I saw the scene when she was found a week later… Her blood had turned black by then.” Silence hung in the room. The only disturbance was the gentle hum of the lift as another of the late High Council members hurriedly pressed the button and began descending. Tollubo nodded grimly at the thought of Helryx’s murder. “That sounds like something… he would do.” he muttered softly. “When did that happen?” Kualus made a noise as air escaping from his mouth. “A couple of years ago. I think it was here in Metru-Nui. Could have been in Xia. I don’t remember exactly. That was back when I had a team. Feels like a lifetime ago.” The mood remained cold. Silence hung once more until Matoro finally spoke up. “I suppose you will be needed places to stay? The other Toa live here in the Coliseum. That way they’re never on the other side of the island when there’s a Rahkshi attack and I can summon them easily.” “Here works for me.” grunted Tollubo. Jollun nodded as well. “I’d also like to get Betak and Eselox helping me with tracking down my Counterpart.” continued Tollubo as he gestured to the two Agori. Neither of them were listening but he was sure they would both be pleasantly surprised when they found out. “And, speaking of Eselox,” added Jollun. “We managed to capture her Counterpart as well.” The Toa of Light nodded towards the other side of the chamber where Kran stood holding the mutated Agori in chains. “Have you guys figured out how to undo the effects of a Shadow Leech yet?” “We’ll see what we can do.” nodded Matoro. “I’m happy to have you both busy tracking down … this universe’s Tollubo, but I still want you to answer to some of the attacks and accept missions like the others. They need a break.” The two Toa nodded in agreement. That was evident. “Do you have any other questions about Metru-Nui?” “Where are you getting you fuel from?” asked Jollun. Tollubo frowned in confusion then recognized the Toa of Light’s point. If the Matoran had declared war on the Brotherhood then they would have experienced a technological breakthrough in weaponry. They would have had to adapt to keep up with the Brotherhood’s armies. With Metru-Nui and Artakha being the only two resistances remaining to be undamaged, that meant places such as Xia, Stelt, and Nynrah would not be able to supply them with technology and fuel. “Le-Metru.” answered Matoro. “We had almost the entire city torn down and planted trees, hundreds and thousands of trees. Doesn’t look great but we can easily chop them down and use the wood.” “Trees grown to be cut down.” remarked Tollubo. Matoro shrugged. “It’s either them or us.” he answered. “We’ve been trying to get this Toa of Plant life whose stationed on Artakha to come over and give us a hand.” Something clicked in the back of Tollubo’s mind at the mention of a Toa of Plant life. Like he had said while trying to explain his life to Matoro, he had never met a Toa of Plant life and knew little about them. He knew at least two had been Toa Hagah and that there had been one who played a significant part in ending the Great Disruption. However, although he had never met a Toa of Plant life, he had once travelled to a settlement for Matoran of Plant life. They were a strange specimen, living nomadically in jungles and rainforests in the fertile soils of the Southern Island Chain – the harshest terrain in the Matoran Universe. Tollubo suddenly noticed that the others had turned around to face the lift. It must finally have arrived from when he noticed it begin its climb. He didn’t particularly care who exited the shaft until Jollun nudged him sharply in the side. Taken aback, Tollubo sent a questioning glare at the Huna-Wearer only to see blind shock present in his friend’s eyes. “You’re not going to believe this.” muttered the Toa of Light. Tollubo shifted his expression into a deep frown before he turned around. He saw a Ga-Matoran enter the room. She carried a Combat Staff and a Kanoka Disk Launcher. She was lean and sleek yet appeared to have considerably large muscles for a Ga-Matoran – the types of things that were the result of countless games of Kohlii and training. The breath was stolen from Tollubo’s lungs as his mouth hung open. His eyes could have rolled out of his Kanohi Mask and bounced off the floor. He tried to utter her name but couldn’t bring himself to saw it. He swallowed hard then looked at Jollun. The two Toa stood in stunned silence before Tollubo finally brought himself to utter her name. 'Mesa?” he gasped.

Chapter 3
The Ta-Matoran stumbled forwards, trying to regain his balance. Dark shapes swirled around in his eyes, blocking his vision. The Matoran tried to speak but his words were drowning in more chemicals. He tried to howl, to cough the foul liquid back up but his two captors held him firmly until he swallowed the substance. His eyes had stopped working several gallons ago. Only his nose and audio receptors still weren’t drowned in the thick malt and all that he could sense was the smell of his own vomit. There was a howling in his audio receptors that he recognized as laughter. He zoned out again. When his senses returned to him he was being dragged down an iron staircase. The two voices were arguing, they echoed painfully through his throbbing head. “Watch out…” A sudden flash of white light burned into the Matoran’s eyes as his head hit a wall. Laughter. Fresh air. It was cold and salty. It cut him like a knife. The stale air began to wake him as he sucked oxygen into his sore lungs. He felt powerful. Energy pulsed through his circuits for a moment as his eyes plunged in and out of focus. Then it began to disappear. The energy disappeared as soon as it had come. He passed out again. The Ta-Matoran was dreaming. Confused memories swirled around in his head. Objects rushed at him, causing him to flinch in the claws of his captors. Every inch of his body ached. He tried to concentrate. He had to hold back more vomit. He didn’t manage. “AGH!” yelled one of the captors in a deep voice. He was a large red and yellow armored Skakdi. “The Matoran just threw up on me!” “Well you can’t complain, you’re the one who poisoned him!” grunted the other captor. He was a green and black warrior who the Matoran could no longer picture. The Ta-Matoran flopped like a plush doll as the two beings lowered him into a small boat. He knew he had to fight. Fight to stay conscious. Fight the poison in his body. Fight these two murderers. “I have to fight.” he repeated as he fought his drunken state. “What did he say?” demanded the Skakdi. “Nothing, he’s just rambling.” answered the green and black blob. That was all the Matoran could make out as the green blob knelt forwards and started shaking him. “That’s right, you stay awake now.” he chuckled. “This wouldn’t be any fun if you fell asleep on us now would it?” “Get a move on, you know I don’t like boats.” complained the Skakdi. “It’s not my fault you never learnt how to swim.” replied the green blob. “Let’s just get this over with so we can get back to dry land.” “Cast us off then.” “Can’t you do it? I might fall in.” There was a moments silence. The Ta-Matoran could imagine the green warrior staring at the Skakdi in disgust then sighing. “As usual, I have to do everything.” The whine of the motor began to ring in the Matoran’s audio receptors as he struggled to concentrate. What did that mean? Were they going to dump him in the water? He could barely sit up, let alone swim. He could feel the bile that had stuck to his mask. It made him want to throw up again. “Not so fast.” pleaded the Skakdi. “Shut up, I know what I’m doing.” “Come on, it’s dark and it’s dangerous. We shouldn’t be out on the water at night.” The green warrior ignored the Skakdi and continued steering the boat. The Ta-Matoran had never felt so helpless in his life. His own body wouldn’t obey him. When he tried to raise his arm his leg moved. When he tried to sit up he threw up. When he tried to speak he coughed and belched. Even his brain was deserting him, confusing him with swirling images. Despite his helplessness, he reached deep within himself and told his mind to focus. He dropped to his hands and knees. His muscles screamed at him and his joints ached. The pain only made him concentrate. It would help him to stay awake. If he felt pain then he knew he was alive. “What does he think he’s doing?” growled the Skakdi. The green warrior didn’t reply. The Matoran was too busy trying to crawl to let the Skakdi stop him. Soon he forgot the pain. About a second later he also forgot why he was actually crawling. All he remembered was that he had to keep going or he would die. The Ta-Matoran’s mask knocked against something hard and cold. His senses screamed at him that it was the green warrior’s leg but he couldn’t tell how he knew. Desperate not to let them dump him overboard, the Matoran grabbed hold of the warrior’s leg. “Get off.” snapped the green armored warrior as he kicked the squirming Matoran, knocking him back a couple of feet and leaving him dazed. But, the Matoran didn’t give up. He crawled back and regained his grip. This time the green warrior put an armored foot directly in the Matoran’s face. The Ta-Matoran was thrown about a meter back where he landed heavily on his side. He blacked out. Toa Tollubo sighed and returned his attention to the wall in front of him. He had been studying it for hours and all of the words were starting to mix together meaninglessly. He was, of course, in the Onu-Metru Archives – for the second time since arriving in the Fractures Universe – reading the Wall of History. Beside him were Toa Jollun, Betak, Eselox, and Mesa. The four dimensionally displaced beings had been scrolling the walls for hours trying to make sense of how their universe differed to this one while they used Mesa to help them when they were confused. It had taken much longer than it needed to but he was pretty content with what had changed. Little had actually changed in the Universe until after the Toa/Dark Hunter War. Prior to that event Makuta Karabak seemed to have taken on Teridax’s role and had overthrown Miserix. Jollun had also noticed how the Toa/Dark Hunter War had ended was different. Where the Toa had forced their enemies out of Metru Nui in their Universe, The Shadowed One and some Turaga called ‘Tuyet‘ had settled an armistice. After several painstaking treaties, the Hunters agreed to an alliance with the Matoran to fight the Brotherhood, which had begun to invade the Matoran Universe by that point. As the Order of Mata Nui emerged from secrecy, the Universe began to drift into different alliance systems. The Matoran, Dark Hunters, Vortixx, and Order made up one half, the Brotherhood, the Skakdi, and several other rebels made up the other. After about a year of war, the Mata Nui Robot had returned to Bara Magna only for the Brotherhood to spill out and invade the planet. However, as only Artahka and Metru-Nui were left standing by that stage, some of the survivors had argued over what to do. In the end, most of the Toa had travelled to the Southern Matoran Universe to fight off the Brotherhood while Jollun’s Counterpart had managed to seal off the Matoran Universe. The Toa of Light held back a yawn. They had heard all of this before from either Matoro or his own Counterpart so they were all just skimming. He was surprised when Betak raised a finger to point at one of the sections on the Wall of History. “What does marriage mean?” she asked. Tollubo and Jollun exchanged glances and shrugged. “Not a clue.” muttered Tollubo. The four of them turned to Mesa. “Marriage means to get married, surely you’ve all heard of that?” When nobody responded Mesa shrugged. “Well, it’s a bond between a male and a female. When they fall in love they can get married and become husband and wife. You would usually live together and Matoran usually do it to show how much they love their partner.” “Who in their right mind would think of that?” frowned Tollubo. Jollun looked equally confused. The Toa of Light was about to press Mesa on for more but the others turned back to the wall, dismissing the idea. Instead, he decided to ask the Av-Matoran a question – a question that had been itching at the back of him mind since he had met her again. “Why don’t you recognize me?” Mesa looked at him and blinked. “Should I? I don’t know many Toa of Light.” “I mean as a Matoran, when we were in the Core.” Mesa stared back at him blankly then smiled sadly and shook her head. “I’m afraid I simply don’t know you.” she replied. “You seem like the kind of person I would remember, but I don’t. I’m sorry.” Tollubo nodded slowly. He knew for a fact that Teridax’s absence hadn’t affected the Time Slip, which meant he still would have given her his Keystone and her memory would have been wiped. Perhaps that was why she didn’t remember him. Tollubo’s thoughts were interrupted by Jollun as he pointed towards a particular section of the wall above Eselox’s head. “Is it just me or is there something strange about Helryx’s death?” mused the Toa of Light. “Like what?” asked Tollubo as he leaned in. The three females leaned in closer too. They were alone in the Hall so the silence had allowed them all to hear Jollun’s point. “It’s different to what Kualus said.” Jollun raised a long, white finger and pointed towards one of the words. Tollubo squinted and focused his eyes. The section was lengthy and dull but Tollubo managed to find the particular entry about Helryx’s Death. There was no date to give him a reference of time but the Toa of Light managed to decipher that the Toa of Water’s death had happened about a year ago. ''Worse still – despite the numbers of fatalities experienced on the Metru-Nui Home Front – Toa Helryx appeared to have disappeared. After a city-wide search several of the Toa Metru managed to locate a body, which was identified as the corpse of Toa Helryx. After analysis of the crime scene, pathologists and local law enforcement were able to confirm that her hands and feet were stretched across and impaled by four iron stakes. Shortly after this act was committed, Toa Helryx’s chest was sliced open and acid was poured into her torso, which corroded several of her vital organs and circuits.'' Again, Tollubo found himself fighting to contain a yawn. One night ago he had been attacked by four Makuta in a cramped straw hut. He had not slept in over a week from stress and fear of Karabak and travelling to this Universe had not helped his head ache. So instead of reading the rest of the passage, he decided to skim to the bottom. When he was content that he had overtaken the others, he began to read the writing. ''A total of seven Civil Witnesses attended the crime scene. The three Toa who discovered the crime scene –Toa Hagah Norik, Kualus, and Varian – shared the duty of an acting Toa Presence while Turaga Kapura provided Turaga Presence. “What does acting presence'' mean?” frowned Tollubo. The others glanced at his section before Jollun shrugged. “Should we ask that guy?” asked Eselox as she pointed towards the twisted being at the other end of the wall. He was small, about the height of the two Agori and a lot frailer. He had small claws and a pair of tiny orange eyes. Tollubo had not noticed him until now but the tiny being appeared to be continuing the latest section of the Wall. Did that make him the Chronicler? Without thinking, the Toa of Light took a step towards the scribe. “Excuse me.” he grunted. The walls made his words echo and amplified his voice in a way that made the peaceful creature flinch. “What does this mean?” The Being glared at him for a moment with his tiny orange eyes. Eventually he made a quiet grunt and stepped forwards to inspect what the Toa was misunderstanding. “What do you mean?” he growled in a frail and weak voice. “Toa Presence” “Well, that’s simple. Before the War started, when a Toa was found dead an investigation would have been launched to identify their murderer. However, in order for the investigation to begin one would need both a Toa’s Presence and a Turaga’s Presence at the scene of the crime. When the death has been fully evaluated then the investigation can begin.” “What do you mean before the war?” “Well, with Matoran dying every day it seems unfair on them to pull Toa out of the field for any reason.” replied the being. “How about this?” asked Jollun. “Toa Kualus told us that Helyrx was tortured then nailed to the wall for three days before she was killed. This thing doesn’t mention a time frame or the fact that she was tortured before it all.” The tiny-eyed being shook his head. “Look, I wrote down what the detectives and investigators told me happened but I’m not a pathologist. Ask someone else. I think Turaga Kapura’s still around.” With those parting words, the creature crawled away and commenced his work on the section he had been scribing away at before Tollubo had spoken to him. “Who was that?” asked the Toa of Light. “That was The Recorder.” answered Mesa. “I think he used to be Makuta Miserix’s personal scribe… or was it The Shadowed One? I forget.” Tollubo grunted in response then turned back to face the wall. There was nothing left of interest to him. Out of boredom, the Toa of Light looked up at the glass ceiling. He had long since been aware that the sunlight had all but disappeared and been replaced by dull grey clouds. Eselox took a glance at him then followed his gaze. The Agori gasped when she saw the black swirling mass above their heads. Tollubo shrugged casually. “We should probably be getting out of here.” remarked the Toa of Light. “My armor doesn’t look good when I’m wet.” The Agori nodded and drifted off towards the door. Betak and Mesa peeled away after her, leaving Jollun staring at the wall. Tollubo stepped closer to him. “Is everything alright, brother?” Jollun didn’t answer until the others had left the room and even then he seemed uncertain. “Do you remember why Kualus brought up the subject of Helryx’s death?” he asked calmly. Tollubo had to admire his friend’s self control. He had something to say and if Tollubo was in his position then he would be blurting out everything in unsorted chunks of randomness. “Because I mentioned Karabak?” “Well this thing doesn’t mention Karabak.” muttered Jollun as he pointed to the wall. Tollubo frowned and scanned through the entry only to find that Jollun was right. The Huna-wearer continued. “In fact, right after we mentioned his name two hardened Toa and two veteran Turaga flinched. That’s four people who believe that Karabak murdered Helryx.” “So what’s wrong with that? They said they didn’t speak of him anymore. Maybe they just banned The Recorder from referring to him because they didn’t want to mention him.” “But they mentioned Karabak before when he took over the Brotherhood.” muttered Jollun as he raised a questioning eye brow. Tollubo glanced at the wall then shrugged, letting out a loud breath. To be honest, he had no idea why Kualus’ story differed to The Recorder’s. If Kualus was making that sort of an accusation then he must have proof. Perhaps that meant he had found something at the crime scene and not told anybody. Perhaps Karabak had contacted him. Neither seemed likely but it was all Tollubo could come up with. The two Toa stared at each other for a moment. Jollun’s eyes were cold and focused. Tollubo didn’t really care how he looked. Jollun was his oldest and closest friend, he wasn’t going to hide anything from him. Not anymore. “Like I said, we should probably get going.” muttered the Tryna-Wearer. “Where to? The Coliseum?” “We might as well. If we’re going to find my counterpart we might as well do it there.” Jollun nodded then gestured towards the sky. “Like you said, we’d better get a move on if we’re going to get anything done at all today.” The Toa of Light turned to leave the chamber leaving Tollubo alone. He took one last look around the room then decided to follow the others. Every sense in his body was scratching away at the inside of his head and he felt ill. Perhaps he had been right before. Perhaps he was just tired. Even so, Tollubo could tell even then that something bad was about to happen. He could feel it. He was right… The two Toa strode forwards through the busy streets of Ga-Metru. All around them Ga-Matoran were standing to attention with weapons at the ready. Due to the extensive military training – which had been imposed on the female Matoran more than the males – the Ga-Matoran were among the most dedicated, patriotic, and well trained soldiers in Metru-Nui. While many other cities were beginning to try and break away from the war effort, the Ga-Matoran were staying strong. Something that both Toa were admiring as they searched for the Ta-Matoran. They were – of course – Lhikan and Kualus two of the most respected beings on the island. Just last week the duo had cooperated to stop an insane Vortixx from using Xian-made explosives to destroy the Great Temple. In exchange, the Ga-Matoran around them were more than happy to step aside and let the Toa through. The Matoran who they were searching for was named Harma. He was a simple Ta-Matoran who had lost interest in industry and moved to Ga-Metru. Preferring the quiet life, Harma had taken up fishing in the canals – which meant a lot of complains were reaching the audio receptors of the Toa. Despite the fact Metru-Nui was supporting the ruined island of Zakaz in the fishing industry, this Ta-Matoran had started his own business catching fish in Ga-Metru then illegally selling them. Worse still, the Matoran had illegally fashioned his own scythe and started chopping hedges without a license. Lhikan had already visited the Matoran a month ago to confiscate both his fishing rod and scythe. Now it seemed the Matoran was in more trouble than usual. The two Toa found the Ta-Matoran where they expected to find him – selling fish in the remains of an abandoned market square. Before the war had started the Ta-Matoran had sold fish in the very square that they were standing in. Now that Zakaz was supplying fish nobody was interested. He would be surprised to see anybody that day. The Matoran of Fire froze when he saw the two Toa, unsure how to react. He looked down at his stall and tried to ignore the fact that it was overflowing with crates and buckets full of illegally caught fish. “So, what trouble have you gotten yourself into this time, Harma?” asked Kualus. Neither Toa had their weapons drawn. They doubted they would need them anyway but they didn’t want to frighten the Matoran. “I think you damn well know.” scowled the Ta-Matoran. His Kanohi Kaukau creased as he crossed his arms. The reason they had come was long and complicated. Neither of the Toa knew the full reason but they had heard snippets of information. Early in the morning, a Ga-Matoran had opened her door to find Harma on her doorstep. He had clearly been poisoned. After throwing up several times he had been rushed to a hospital only to have broken out and urgently tried to establish contact with Turaga Matoro. He had made many phone calls to the reception desk of the Coliseum claiming that he had learned of several Brotherhood spies. According to the Kaukau-wearer, the spied were planning to stage an attack that would bring Metru-Nui to its knees by sunset. Cautious about what Harma knew, Matoro had ordered Lhikan to divert from his usual patrols to question the Ta-Matoran. However, when Harma called again and claimed that he was being followed the Turaga decided Lhikan may need backup. As a result, the two Toa had been told to abandon whatever they were doing, question Harma, then drag him back to the Coliseum for safe-keeping. “Cool it.” growled Lhikan. “You can either calm down and tell us what they’re planning or we walk away. Your choice.” Harma glared from Lhikan to Kualus then sighed. “Look, I can’t tell you, alright? At least not here. If I say a word to you two about what I know then I wouldn’t be surprised if I woke up tomorrow with a Muaka’s head in my bed. Besides, these guys are serious. They have Cordak Blasters, Skyblasters and a whole lot of sharp things. You can’t stop them and I don’t want to get anybody hurt.” “Don’t play games with us.” grunted Lhikan. “Don’t ever, ever think you are capable of doing that. You called us out here because you are being stalked and because you had information of the Brotherhood attacking Metru-Nui today. Either you start talking or a whole lot of Matoran are going to be killed.” “How many spies are there?” asked Kualus in a different tone. The Toa of Ice’s eyes were tired and heavy. Lhikan guessed his own would be too. He didn’t usually snap at Matoran like that but he was exhausted. Harma swallowed, clearly shocked by Lhikan’s outburst. “Two Glatorian, some Skakdi, a Vortixx, and some others.” “Now can you tell us what they are actually planning?” snarled Lhikan. His patience was stretching. “I can’t.” whined Harma. “They’ll kill me.” Lhikan took a long sigh then turned to Kualus. The two Toa exchanged tired expressions. Harma wasn’t cooperating because he was scared. That meant these spies still had the upper hand. Perhaps they had spoken to Harma before the Toa had arrived and ‘convinced’ him not to say anything. Perhaps Harma was already dead and they were talking to some other Ta-Matoran who had been threatened to act like him. Maybe he had simply changed his mind since making the communicator call. Whatever it was, Lhikan wasn’t liking it. This wasn’t the first time Harma had gotten into trouble. For a Ta-Matoran living in Ga-Metru he managed to get into a lot of fights and had angered a lot of powerful Matoran in his time. The Toa of Fire had been called down to dig him out of trouble before so he had taken the liberty of using the Coliseum data base to research the Ta-Matoran fishing enthusiast. He had few friends and quite a lot of enemies. As far as a number of sources were concerned, Harma was more trouble than he was worth. He was unhelpful, disobedient, and had a habit of getting himself into messes like this. Lhikan was also beginning to discover that he was getting cheeky. That was the problem with Matoran these days: they have no respect for their elders. As Lhikan turned back to face Harma he saw something flash through the air above his shoulder. As he turned to look at the space it had been the wooden crate exploded. Harma screamed and ducked for cover instantly, sending fish and buckets tumbling over. Lhikan glanced at Kualus, alarmed. Both Toa had been around long enough to know what had just happened. Somebody had just fired a Cordak Rocket at them. They spun around and drew their weapons. Behind them they saw only a darkened alleyway. Pieces of ragged, torn cloth fluttered from the roofs of the abandoned stalls, blocking their view. Although they were simple material, they were still white and reflected all light – not that there was much light with the storm that was rolling into view. “Show yourself.” yelled Lhikan as a ball of fire materialized in his palm. He flicked his wrist and sent it hurtling towards one of the stalls. The ball of Heat Energy was too hot to start a fire. Instead it incinerated the wooden frame and reduced it to ashes. Another Cordak Missile flew through the air. This time the shooter did not miss. The rocket struck the crate that Harma was hiding behind and sent him hurtling backwards. The Ta-Matoran landed a couple of feet away from the charred remains of the wooden container and sagged to the ground. His chest was torn and bloody but he was otherwise alive. “If you wish.” The voice came from the shadowy area behind the stalls. “But beware – I have drop-dead good looks... quite literally.” “Don’t worry,” snorted Kualus. “I’ve seen some pretty ugly things in my day.” There was a dry chuckle before the two Toa realized the mysterious being had fired his Cordak Blaster again. This time, a total of three missiles struck the stone wall behind them. Both Lhikan and Kualus flinched as pieces of rubble flew clear from the blast zone and fell. The rocks weren’t going to hit the two Toa because they were too far away. However, Harma still lay sprawled unconscious in the ground – directly below the falling rocks. Without thinking, Lhikan forced his two Fire Greatswords together and ran towards the avalanche of rock. He heard Kualus yell after him as he dived for the Ta-Matoran. He didn’t have time to activate his Kanohi Hau. That took concentration and he couldn’t exactly focus his mind in the split second where he jumped into landslide of falling rock. Instead he decided to do it the old fashioned way and get buried in the process. As the first of the rocks hit him in the back he decided that he was going to regret it. Then he felt the pain as he was crushed. Kualus watched in sheer horror as Lhikan disappeared from sight. The Toa of Fire’s gleaming red and gold armor was engulfed by the rock slabs in less than a second, like he had just been swallowed up by the dull grey stone that had once been part of a building. He could only hope that his ally had managed to shield Harma. Kualus growled and turned to face the shadow before him. He watched as the mystery Cordak carrier stepped out of the shadows slowly. First his right leg appeared then he paused, as if considering whether or not to actually step out into the light. Eventually he decided it was too late to change his mind and eased the rest of his body out of the darkness. Instantly, Kualus began evaluating the being. Harma’s attacker was a lot taller than the Toa of Ice and far stronger. He wore green and black armor and had a pair of scaly green claws. Strapped to each of his wrists was a Cordak Blaster. One of them was nearly empty so the being tossed it aside. The weapon made a dull CLANK as it struck the ground and didn’t bounce. Kualus could tell instantly that it had been modified from the weapon he had trained with. That told him something about Harma’s Stalker. As he continued his analysis, Kualus noticed that the being also had a Rhotuka Launcher strapped to his arm and that he also had a mace tucked away. He wore an oddly shaped Kanohi Felnas and had a pair of emerald-green eyes that seemed to pierce right into Kualus’ soul. The Toa of Ice refused to show any emotion. He didn’t want to give the attacker any advantage. Instead he decided to take a different approach and let the attacker speak first. It seemed that the Felnas wearer was thinking the same thing because an awkward silent hung in the alley. Kualus doubted there was such a thing as an ‘easy silence’. It was like watching paint dry… or like watching dust settle around a rock pile that had just crushed a Toa and Matoran of Fire. “I know who you are, Kualus.” sneered the Felnas wearer menacingly. “But you don’t know who I am.” “Enlighten me.” snarled the Toa in response. He gripped his Sub-Zero Spear even harder as he aimed it at where he thought his enemy’s heart-stone was. “Well, my name is Restac.” grunted the Felnas-wearer. “But I haven’t used that name in a long time.” “So tell me what name I can put on your tombstone.” ‘Restac’ cracked a smile. “You will call me by my codename, like everybody else does. As far as you are concerned, my name is Terminator because that was my job. When I was a Dark Hunter I was responsible for killing people. Now that the Dark Hunters are disbanded, killing is my hobby.” Kualus didn’t respond. He could think of words to say but he didn’t want to provoke the ex-Dark Hunter into a fight just yet. He wanted to listen. “So you’re a Dark Hunter who chose to join the Brotherhood?” “I work freelance.” replied "Terminator". “When somebody wants an annoying Toa picked off I stick my hand up and volunteer. I don’t have anything to do with those foolish Makuta.” “So you’re a bounty hunter?” “I’m an assassin. There’s a very big difference. Bounty Hunters kill people for a couple of widgets, assassins do it because it feels good.” “And yet you can’t even silence a quiet Ta-Matoran?” grunted Kualus. “He’s alive under there. Do you want to dig him out?” “Why should I bother?” shrugged "Terminator". “I’m not here to kill him. He did what we wanted without even knowing.” “And what would that be?” The former Dark Hunter stared at Kualus in disbelief then chuckled. “You mean you have no idea? Honestly, if you had any idea how many months of careful planning my people have put into planning this attack. Every night somebody’s saying that ''the Toa are watching us. We’re going to get caught. The stakes are too high. They’ll kill us'' and the truth is that you don’t even know that we exist?” “Well we know now.” replied Kualus. “And we’re quick learners.” "Terminator" continued to chuckle until he realized Kualus was being serious. “But you’re not very imaginative, are you? Try and guess what our plan is.” Kualus didn’t answer. He only glared at "Terminator" from behind his Mask of Rahi Control. Instead he asked a question. “What did you mean when you said Harma did what you wanted without knowing?” "Terminator" smiled darkly. “He dragged two Toa out of the Coliseum for us. My… allies intend to attack it while you are out. Tell me, who’s going to be standing at the gates to kick them out when we storm over there? The-almighty-Toa-Orkahm?” “So that’s your plan? Invade the Coliseum?” “No.” snarled "Terminator". “Our plan is much more complex than that. Storming through the Coliseum is only the first box on out doomsday checklist. It’s a shame you won’t be around to see it get ticked off.” Kualus frowned as the Felnas-wearing Dark Hunter raised his remaining Cordak Blaster and aimed it at the Toa of Ice’s head. It seemed like his enemy had just switched from telling him about his plan to aiming a weapon at him. That seemed awfully sudden. “I’m going to kill you now Kualus… just in case you couldn’t tell.” taunted "Terminator". “I’m going to blow your head off then kick your corpse until all of your circuits are scrambled. By the time I’m finished with you it’ll look like somebody dropped a bucket of red paint on snowman.” Kualus glared at him. He still had his weapons at the ready, he could still lift his Rhotuka Launching Shield up to protect himself. But that would probably damage the device. His Toa Hagah weapons had been built centuries before the Cordak Blaster had even been thought of. Would his shield even hold against the missiles that had brought down a stone wall? Kualus could only hope as "Terminator" pulled the trigger. Half-crouching, Tollubo ducked into the doorway that made the public entrance to the Coliseum. He shivered then shook his armor dry as Jollun, Betak, Eselox, and Mesa followed him in. They had thought the storm every step of the way with rain drilling into their masks. While he had been blinded by the storm, Tollubo was certain that he had walked into at least three Matoran then tripped over a sandbag. The Toa of Light let out a relieved breath then turned to look around. The reception of the building was full of Matoran shouting and arguing. From what he could hear there was something about them losing control over the weather generator in the Core Processor. He cracked a smile. That explained the storm and also meant that the Turaga couldn’t change the weather to keep the Matoran fighting anymore. He almost wanted to see how this turned out. Once again Tollubo and Jollun approached the elevator. The two Toa of Light exchanged glances. The last time they had used this elevator they had travelled together because of their weight. Now it was time for them to split up. “I’ll go first and take Betak and Eselox. You go with Mesa.” muttered Tollubo when he was certain the females wouldn’t hear. Jollun frowned. “Is this because she doesn’t remember you?” The Tryna-wearer nodded. “Yes, plus I am convinced that you are heavier than me.” The two Toa smiled then clanked fists. “I’ll see you at the top.” smiled Jollun. Tollubo nodded then turned to herd Eselox and Betak into the elevator shaft. He tried not to look at Mesa as they waited for the lift doors to shut, although he doubted she was particularly interested. He wouldn’t be. It seemed like an eternity before the doors finally shut. When they finally did Tollubo had to keep himself from breathing out loudly. Instead he glanced at the ceiling then down at the two Agori. Although he didn’t want to admit it, Tollubo felt that he was moving further and further away from them both. Now that he was three times Betak’s size, Tollubo was beginning to believe that his relationship with her was in danger. It was as if invisible walls were building up between them. They hadn’t even spoken properly in what felt like ages. Worse still, the same thing seemed to be happening with Eselox. Over the past week he had become close friends with the female Agori of the Fire Tribe. Despite the fact their friendship had begun with a somewhat rocky start, he was already feeling that it could only get worse. The Fire Agori had been finding excuses not to talk to him or look at him recently. She couldn’t look him in the eye either – and Tollubo knew enough about females to know what that meant. “You two holding up here?” The two females nodded. “For the moment.” muttered Betak. “But we are going back right?” “As soon as we find the guy who brought us here.” answered Tollubo. He glanced at the screen to see that they weren’t even halfway up their descent. “Where exactly are we going to now?” asked Betak, an energetic gleam shone in her eyes. Tollubo half-smiled. He could always trust Betak to be bubbling with energy. “To see Matoro again.” he answered. “I have a couple of questions still about what happened to the other Toa… and the Agori too. I’d sleep a lot easier at night knowing that you lot will be safe here.” Betak nodded, mulling his response through her mind. She pulled a face and the Toa of Light could see the cogs rotating in her mind. He took another glance at the screen then finally let out his sigh. Silence When the doors finally opened, Tollubo waited for the Agori to exit first. Betak strode out first and was followed by Eselox. When both Agori suddenly stopped dead in their tracks Tollubo knew something was wrong. Without pausing to think, he leapt forwards, grabbed them both by the wrists, then yanked them aside. They were not in Matoro’s council room. Instead they were in a sort of armory. Tollubo spotted an upturned desk and ducked towards it, pulling Betak and Eselox along with him. When they reached the other side the Toa of Light raised an eyebrow. Plastered across the wall behind the desk was the corpse of male receptionist. He was an Onu-Matoran but Tollubo couldn’t tell anything else about him. Half of his head and been blasted away by some sort of projectile. The force of the attack had left the Matoran pinned to the wall. The Toa of Light frowned and extended a finger to touch the tip of the Onu-Matoran’s armor. As soon as his finger touched it a chemical reaction took place and the armor disintegrated. For a second Tollubo wondered what would have happened had they arrived a minute earlier. The Onu-Matoran had been shot in the Mask with a vat full of acid. The Toa nearly flinched when he felt a hand slap his shoulder. He shuddered then realized it had been Betak. “The first thing you decide to do is touch it?” “Well, I was going to lick it first but I wouldn’t look good with half of my Mask burnt off, would I?” Betak cracked a smile at Tollubo’s response. The Toa and Agori grinned for a long moment before Eselox tapped him on the shoulder and pointed towards another upturned desk. The Toa of Light squinted to focus his eyes. When they converged on the desk he realized Eselox was pointing at Toa Orkahm. The Toa of Air was crouched under the desk, waving frantically at them. Tollubo doubted Vhisola would be far away. That was supposedly a good thing. The fact that he had not been shot with acid when he entered the chamber was another good thing. The Onu-Matoran had been shot at point-blank range. If the killer was still in the room then he too would be dead. Seeing no reason to be afraid, Tollubo rose to his feet and strode over towards the Toa of Air. “Toa Orkahm?” he gasped sarcastically. “Fancy seeing you here! We have to stop meeting like this.” The Toa of Air ignored Tollubo’s joke and started looking around. “There were five of them.” spluttered the Matatu-wearer. “They didn’t see-spot me but they captured-imprisoned Vhisola. I think-believe they’re in the vault.” “Right.” nodded Tollubo. His facial expression suddenly became serious as his brow furrowed in concern. “Describe them to me.” The Toa of Air frowned then thought deeply. “Two Glatorian, a Vortixx, a Skakdi, and a Steltian Laborer.” Tollubo nodded again then pulled out his Light-Sword. “Well then, I guess somebody’s going to have to take out the trash.” The Toa of Light almost anticipated the three shouts from the others. “Are you joking?” Eselox half choked and half gasped as she asked him. “I don’t know what three of those things are but it’ll be five against one. They’ll rip you to shreds!” For the first time in centuries, Tollubo stopped to think. Eselox had a point. He was inexperienced and outnumbered. The people who had done this were carrying some considerable weaponry – the Onu-Matoran’s head was a testament to that. Yet, on the other hand, he had no other option. There weren’t exactly Toa-on-demand at the moment. Lhikan and Kualus obviously weren’t in the building, Jollun was still in the lift, and Vhisola was captive. It was down to him to do something – and that something wasn’t going to be just sitting around looking pretty. “Well then,” he sighed before puffing his chest out heroically. “Maybe we can sneak in. Is there another entrance to the vault?” Orkahm shook his head. “Ok… is it just the one chamber?” This time Orkahm opened his mouth to answer. “No. It’s split-categorized into three separate-different sections of item-artifacts that we victory-won in the war. One contains-hold Kanohi-Masks. One is for Weapons. The other is for ‘other’. I think-recall they mention-said something about a Kanohi.” “That’s strange.” remarked Tollubo. “What were they? Glatorian, Vortixx, Steltian, and Skakdi?” Orkahm nodded again. “Then they can’t use masks. Why would they want to steal one?” Orkahm shrugged then pointed towards the door. “I don’t-not know but I’m suppose-guess we’re about to find out.” As if on cue, the iron door at the end of the room swung open. Tollubo’s heart stone leapt to his mouth as a figure stepped forwards into the light. He was a large, red and yellow armored Skakdi, carrying a saber and what looked like some sort of Energy Blaster. His wicked white teeth shone as he giggled then stepped back into the room. His blaster began to hum as he edged nearer.

Chapter 4
There was nowhere to run. There was nowhere to hide. Toa Tollubo was staring into the blazing eyes of a Skakdi with two vulnerable Agori and a rookie Toa of Air beside him. Normally two Toa would be enough to overwhelm to crimson armored figure, but he wasn’t getting any positive vibes from the Magma Blaster his enemy was carrying. He was no expert but that thing looked like it could melt a hole in a Protosteel wall. The Skakdi growled, it’s eyes glaring right into Tollubo – as if they were burning him. It took a step forwards then – to Tollubo’s utter astonishment – it turned away. Four mouths hinged open as Tollubo, Betak, Eselox, and Orkahm gawped at the Skakdi. It was walking away. It hadn’t even noticed them. Immediately Tollubo sensed something was wrong. They all did. It was common sense. Skakdi were savage and brutal creatures by nature. If they were guarding a vault then they wouldn’t choose to simply ignore a potential threat, especially a threat like two Toa. Tollubo was almost insulted. The unspoken question was answered without a word, rather by the sizzle of a beam of Light. The burst of energy spat from behind Tollubo’s head and struck the Skakdi square in the chest. His yell was drowned behind the sizzle of the energy burst as it scorched his armor. He fell to the ground in a clatter of heavy armor. Had he been a Matoran Tollubo would have immediately turned around to greet his savior. The Toa of Light could imagine his mouth hanging open lazily as a younger version of him span around gleefully in his imagination. He knew all too well that there were now only eight Toa in this universe and that two of them were Toa of Light. If he hadn’t fired the beam of energy at the Skakdi then there could only be one other person who could have. Toa Tollubo finally turned around to face his fellow Toa. Surely enough, standing beside the elevator, was Toa Jollun and Mesa. Their lift must have crawled up to their level while they were busy studying the dead Onu-Matoran and shaking sense into Orkahm. The Toa of Light breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of his brother Toa – if that was what Toa still called each other these days. “I’m not one to complain,” smiled Jollun “but next time you want me to hide you from a Skakdi, give me a warning first. I’m a busy Toa.” The Toa of Light winked at Tollubo only to see the confusion in his eyes. “How did you-?” muttered Tollubo. He trailed off, leaving Jollun to finish the sentence himself. The Toa frowned then realized the source of the problem. He cracked a smile as he reached up and tapped his Kanohi. “Didn’t I mention?” chuckled the Toa of Light. “This is a Huna Nuva. Let’s me conceal myself and anyone else I choose.” “Guess I owe you one” snorted Tollubo. The two Toa of Light smiled before Jollun started swirling his Light Lance between his fingers. “So, what have I missed and why do the Coliseum staff have a sudden craving to use Onu-Matoran as wallpaper?” Tollubo shrugged and turned to Orkahm, directing the question to the Toa of Air. The Matatu wearer swallowed then started speaking. “That doesn’t important-matter. All you need to think-know is that there are inside-within the lock-vault.” “And that thing’s holding just about every powerful Kanohi, weapon, and Karzahni knows what else that any Toa has ever stumbled across.” Jollun’s eyes switched between Tollubo and Orkahm as he began processing the new information. When he had finally caught up to speed he nodded again then glanced at the Skakdi. “So do they know we are here? They obviously sent him out here for a reason. If we walk in there we could have four Cordak Blasters pointing at our heads.” “You could always think-use your fancy Huna-Mask and make us all hidden-invisible again” suggested Orkahm. “Besides, they left-kept Vhisola alive.” Tollubo and Jollun glanced at each other again. The Tryna-wearer tried to make himself look like he was voicing Orkahm’s strange treespeak as a command. He didn’t think it would work against Jollun but the Toa finally gave in. “Fine” he sighed. “But just us Toa. This place is too dangerous for the others. They’ll have to turn back.” “And where are we supposed to go?” implored Betak as she crossed her arms and raised her eyebrow. She looked so much like a Matoran in that moment. “Go find Kualus and Lhikan” muttered Tollubo. When the blue Agori continued to stare at him questioningly he sighed and kneeled down to her height. “Look, Betak, I know what you’re like. Running away is the last thing that you want to do. To you it’s almost an insult. But please, just this once, I need you to get out of here. The four people I care about the most are in this room. If you were to die, if they were to take you prisoner, it would destroy me. You remember what I was like when I last lost somebody, don’t you?” Mesa frowned then nudged Eselox. “Who was that?” Tollubo’s eyes narrowed. In his Universe he had watched Mesa die. He had mourned and grieved her for weeks then blamed himself and now, just as he thought he was getting over her death, he met her counterpart – a counterpart that didn’t even know him – he did not know how to react. Part of him was enraged, screaming at him, torturing him for ever loving her in the first place. The other part felt like it had been torn right open. He could feel his insides churning as she spoke. “Nobody you’d know” he growled at the Faxon-wearer. With those words he rose to his feet, drew his Sword, then nodded to Jollun, raw fury blazing in his eyes. “Let’s gut the monsters.” The Toa of Light’s eyebrows rose as he tried to read Tollubo’s sudden change in emotion. When he realized what was about to happen he nodded. There was no stopping Tollubo now. He was angry, he was untrained, he was unstable. Betak and Eselox grabbed Mesa and started running for the elevator. They both knew what was about to happen. Tollubo was about to go into a power fit. Breaking into the vault wasn’t particularly difficult for the three Toa. Orkahm knew the combination and was able to give them access. As the cold, metallic grey door began to slide open Jollun activated his Huna Nuva to shield the three of them. The three Toa marched forwards as one, which was strange. Tollubo had not expected to be able to see his two fellow Toa. Perhaps Jollun’s Kanohi was more than just a Kanohi Nuva. Mata Nui knew how it had been adapted… literally. After passing a short row of empty shelves and broken Kanohi the trio saw the first of their enemies. The first thing that Tollubo noticed about the figure was his height. The black and silver armored giant was crouching beneath the ceiling, making him only slightly larger than Tollubo himself. Secondly, he noticed the cursing and clumsiness and he tripped over Kanohi and thrashed about at the racks. Clearly he was in a rush. But that wasn’t all. The Toa of Light continued his assessment to notice the figure was a Vortixx with a face that wouldn’t have looked out of place on a Muaka’s backside. The male Xian was hideous. His teeth were crooked and loomed forwards over his jaw in a massive under bite that made him look like he had both the brains and the looks of a Po-Matoran. The Toa of Light also noted his weapons, a Cordak Blaster and a blade. He obviously wasn’t the killer of the Onu-Matoran outside. Tollubo felt a tap on his shoulder and nearly flinched. When he realized it had been Jollun he wanted to slap his fellow Toa of Light. He scowled at himself as the Huna wearer pointed through the metal to an opening. The Toa of Light squinted to follow his gaze and found his eyes focusing on Toa Vhisola. The Toa of Water was in a terrible state, and that would be a compliment. Her armor was pitted with dents from punches she had taken. One of her eyes was swollen and her hands and feet were chained behind her back. Her weapons and Kanohi Komau had been confiscated and now she was lying on the ground, maskless and defeated. There was a single Steltian Laborer looming over her, his fists wrapped around two different types of weapons. There was every likelihood that the bruiser could have killed the Onu-Matoran, but Tollubo doubted. Committing a murder took brains, something the species was not well known for. Judging by how he was fooling around with a silver Kanohi Sanok in his right hand left Tollubo thinking he was no exception. “We have to get to Vhisola” hissed Orkahm before realizing the Huna did not mute his voice. Tollubo and Jollun immediately turned to shut him up only for Tollubo’s arm to connect with an untouched rack of Kanohi. There was an almighty clatter as dozens of silver Masks plummeted to the ground and landed with an individually yet painfully loud each. Jollun closed his eyes and held back a sigh while Tollubo tried to stop himself from swearing. Vhisola’s brutish captor dropped the Sanok and started looking around frantically. The Vortixx stuck his ugly head up too. When he saw his blue and white armored ally thrashing around he shook his head and muttered something before returning to his work. “I doubt they would have heard us anyway” muttered Jollun, his voice hidden beneath the clatter of Kanohi. “I was hoping to hear something more along the lines of a plan” grumbled Tollubo as he stared at the powerless Toa of Water. “Well that’s your job” shrugged Jollun. “You led us through the Battle of Tethys pretty well, can’t you think of anything for now?” “This is a brand new body for me” grunted the Toa of Light in response. “Stealth is a little out of my league right now.” “Couldn’t we just sneak up to Vhisola, take out the guard, then get her a damn Mask?” whispered Orkahm angrily. “The longer we stand here talking about plans the more of her power is draining.” Jollun nodded. “True” he muttered. “I’m sorry Tollubo, but we don’t have enough time for our usual bicker this time.” The two Toa of Light smiled before Tollubo pointed towards the Vortixx. “What about him?” “Leave him for now” answered Jollun. “When he notices the missing hostage and unconscious guard he’ll run to his leader. That’s what we want.” Tollubo nodded then whipped out his sword, very nearly hitting another rack. “Then let’s do this.” Jollun and Orkahm flinched then turned to leave, not wanting to be near the clumsy Toa of Light when he hit something and attracted more attention to himself. The trio managed to find their way through the racks of Kanohi easily enough. Their enemy remained oblivious right up until Tollubo landed a punch across his face. He grunted and tripped backwards, where Jollun managed to grab him and restrain his hands. It was then that the brute went wild. He still couldn’t see his attackers so he panicked. He began kicking and thrashing about. He saw his weapons being wrenched out of his hands then float in mid-air and the invisible Toa held them. When it finally occurred to him that his mouth still worked he began to shout for help. “Cobarox!” he yelled as Tollubo tried to hold his legs down. “Help me!” Tollubo growled as he wrapped his left arm around their captive’s leg and moved further forwards, trying to punch the brute in the gut. When it dawned on him that he couldn’t reach he turned to Orkahm. “Do something!” he growled in frustration. The rookie Toa of Air panicked. His eyes widened then he twitched. He wasted a good few seconds wondering whether Tollubo was addressing him or not before taking action. When he finally did he raised his Cyclone-Swords and summoned his Elemental Powers. The Air in the room suddenly seemed to change. Tollubo could feel his captive squirm as a vacuum formed around his head. The white and blue armored brute tried to growl, to lash out at Tollubo or Jollun, but he did not have any air. His lungs were emptying fast and his muscles were weakening as he suffocated. Eventually, he gave in. His body sagged as he slipped into unconsciousness. No sooner had the guard passed out, Orkahm lost control of his Elemental Powers. He had struggled to control the vacuum and now he simply couldn’t. The rookie yelped as the vacuum expanded then shot towards one of the emptied racks. It rattled before being blown off of its support and clattering to the ground. This time the Vortixx was certain something was wrong. Tollubo swore as he saw the hideous face of the black and silver armored figure several rows away. He saw the confusion in his eyes as he tried to locate his ally and the Toa of Water. The same thoughts ran through Tollubo’s head as the Vortixx thought them. ''There are intruders. '' The Toa of Light swore to himself as the Vortixx whipped out his Cordak Blaster then made a run for the end of the aisle. He fired a shot at the shelves, bringing down an avalanche of shattered Kanohi Masks. Tollubo swore again as his enemy disappeared from view. “We’ve got to follow him” muttered Jollun. “I know” sighed Tollubo. “But what do we do with Vhisola?” “We can’t leave her here” implored Orkahm as he knelt beside the Toa of Water. Jollun took one glance at Tollubo then turned towards Orkahm and the unconscious Vhisola. “Who said we’re planning to?” he grunted as he tucked his Light Prong into his pack and slung Vhisola over his shoulder. The Toa of Light spun around and scanned the racks of Kanohi for an exit. Tollubo watched as his Kanohi Huna Nuva reactivated and the four Toa became invisible once again. “Let’s move” muttered Tollubo with a smile as he drew his Sword out. Today was simply not a good day for Turaga Kapura. Firstly, he had woken up to find that he had overslept through the signing of an important defense treaty with the Matoran resistance of the Northern Continent, then he had been informed that the infamous Tollubo had somehow become a Toa of Light, and now he was being held hostage in the War Vault... by a female. Sure enough, his captor was a female Glatorian. She was clad in sharp green and black armor, armor that looked like it had been torn off of some poor Toa’s corpse. Worse still, there was a total of five Krana plastered across her plating – clearly some kind of victory token to mark the killing of a couple of Bohrok. And as if Mata Nui wasn’t making his day disastrous enough, he now had a strange Thornax Launcher pressed against his back. He did not know much about the weapon but what he did know was that it fired Thornax Fruit, and the glowing green orbs that were wedged into the Launchers were clearly not fruit – at least not any kind that he would want to eat, not if he wanted to keep his face. “Move faster” ordered the female. Kapura grunted in response and continued moving at the same pace. His captor’s name was Juulant, not a name that he personally recognized but still one he doubted he was going to forget after today’s events. The Glatorian had sprung out of nowhere and pressed her Acid-Launchers against his Kanohi Pakari. She had ordered him to lead her to the Ignika and that was exactly what she was still forcing him to do. The Turaga of Fire had tried every trick he knew to try and throw her off. He had told her it wasn’t being kept in the War Vault, that he had forgotten where it was, and that only Turaga Matoro had access to the Ignika but Juulant had not listened. “We’ve walked past this part before” grunted the Glatorian. Kapura raised his head then shrugged. She was correct. He had been leading her around in circles while he tried to throw her off the trail. The truth was that he did not know what to do. The Jungle Glatorian obviously wasn’t going to lose interest and he could no longer overpower her. Had he been a Toa their skirmish could have ended very differently, but Destiny had other plans and Mata Nui was a cruel and stubborn old Mahi. “What’s that?” demanded Juulant as she pointed towards a metal safe in the wall. Kapura winced. They had in fact walked past that exact same safe three times but he had no intention on bringing it to her attention. He was claiming that he didn’t know where the Ignika was when the mask was in fact behind the doors of that very safe, and Juulant had finally noticed it. “Ah, is that the safe? I didn’t see it” he muttered before hobbling towards it, the green orbs of acid still pressing against his back. “Open it” ordered the Glatorian. Kapura paused then sighed. It was no use. Nobody was coming to help him. Either he was going to hand over the most powerful artifact on the island to an insane Glatorian or he was going to have his face melted off by acid. He had no choice. The Turaga began typing numbers into the keypad of the safe. The seven-digit-code was something that he had spent hours memorizing back when he had first become a Turaga. The Ignika had been in the hands of the Toa ever since Toa Jovan and his team brought the Mask to the island after the Great Disruption centuries ago. The code was accepted. There was no reason why it shouldn’t be. The safe ran on an independent power supply to other appliances in the Coliseum, as did the elevator and the door to the War Vault. Kapura was seriously wishing that wasn’t the case as he wrapped his fingers around the handle and pulled the door open, praying it would just stay shut. The Ignika was inside, obviously. There were hidden cameras and motion detectors within the safe. Upon opening the door an alarm had probably sounded downstairs in the reception area, not that the Matoran down there could do anything. Kapura sighed again and he reached in and grabbed the mask. He was, of course, not one of the Kanohi’s destined bearers so he would be cursed upon touching it. He hoped it would not be permanent but, once again, he did not have a choice and a simple curse was the least of his worries at that moment. “Put the Mask on the floor, Turaga.” This time the command did not come from Juulant. Kapura frowned and turned his head to see another Glatorian stick his head out of the shadows. Juulant tensed almost instinctively then relaxed and stepped back, lowering her weapons in the process. “Go to blazes” growled the Turaga of Fire and he raised his Hammer-Staff and stepped back, transferring the Ignika to his left hand as he did so. “This Kanohi is worth far more than my life. If you had any idea how many generations of Toa have given their lives to see that it would stay protected from decrepit freaks like you then you would probably do the same.” “To be honest I don’t care about the lives of Toa” yawned the new Glatorian. Kapura still couldn’t see all of his body. Only his head was sticking out of the shadows of the Vault. “Well you’ll have to pluck it from my cold, dead, hands” growled Kapura as he glared defiantly into the male Glatorian’s eyes. “If you wish” he muttered in response as he eased out of the shadows. The Turaga of Fire was struck by the spray of bullets like a tree being hit by a Tahktorak. They sliced through his Kanohi, his chest and his arms like he was a plush doll. The Turaga was torn to bloody shreds as his body exploded in a fountain of blood, circuits, and splintered armor. Spent cases flashed as they clattered to the ground, rolling into the shadows and disappearing, bouncing and skidding across the metal floor. The noise created by the Glatorian’s weapon shattered the silence of the Vault. Kapura went down in a mist of blood, dead before he hit the ground. He sagged lifelessly then made a large THUMP that only dead flesh could make. There were bullet holes in his chest big enough for the newcomer to fit his fist into. Neither of the Glatorian spoke for a long moment. Juulant didn’t speak because she was stunned at the carnage, her fellow Glatorian stayed silent to savor the kill. Finally, he leaned forwards and plucked the Ignika from the Turaga’s hands – his cold, dead hands. His name was Mudro. He was the leader of the Brotherhood strike team known as the Cult of Darkness. In his hands was possibly the most deadly Machine Gun ever created in Xia. It spat out cartridges like they were weightless. The grinding noise it made was a symphony to the Glatorian’s audio receptors. A smile slipped across his Helmet as he looked at the Ignika, his prize, ignorant to the curse it was placing upon him as he stood there. “What now?” asked Juulant. “We have the Ignika, that’s what we came here for. Shouldn’t we run for the hills now?” Mudro was about to answer when the silence was broken by the arrival of another member of the group. The Glatorian immediately recognized his lieutenant, Cobarox, as he blundered through the rows of Kanohi to meet them. “Mudro,” panted the Vortixx as he stopped for breath. “The Toa are here. One minute I look up and see Bukach fooling around with a mask, the next he’s gone.” The Glatorian nodded then tossed the Ignika to the Vortixx. He yelped then dived for the Kanohi as Mudro reached for his communicator. He strapped the device to his helmet then began to speak. “Ignis? This is Mudro. What is the status outside the vault?” There was a crackle as the radio waves from outside the container were received, but there was no reply. “So they took out Ignis and Bukach?” frowned Juulant. “So they’re defiantly inside” grunted Cobarox. “Of course they are you fool” growled Mudro as he tore his communicator off, threw it at the ground, then crushed it with his armored foot. “Do you really think Ignis would miss a chance to act like an idiot over a communicator line? He’s either dead or unconscious. Either way, he won’t be waking up again when I get my hands on him.” There was a sharp clank as a Kanohi clattered to the floor. Mudro’s audio receptors pricked as he heard a muffled curse. His head snapped to the right and he raised his weapon. “Show yourselves you spineless cowards!” he roared before pulling the trigger. The Machine Gun spat out bullets and Kanohi were blasted from their shelves. Tollubo swore again then ducked for cover. Jollun and Orkahm followed him closely. The three Toa hit the floor as the bullets screamed past them. When he looked up he was pleased to see that the blue and black armored Glatorian had been firing at a rack slightly to their left. He still didn’t know where they were. “I think things just got worse” grunted Jollun as he rubbed his shoulder before hoisting Vhisola back over it. Tollubo frowned, wondering how in Mata Nui’s name things could get any worse. The answer dawned on him when he saw the Steltian Laborer lumber forwards, rubbing his throat and coughing painfully. “I guess we didn’t hit him hard enough” muttered Orkahm. “You could hit his kind with a building and they’d still get back up again” growled Tollubo as he rose to his feet and looked around. The four Toa were still hidden from sight so there was no chance the lead Glatorian could shoot him. Aside from the hundreds of racks of Kanohi the Vault appeared to be bare. Most of the Masks were now covering the metal floor and the shelves were nearly empty. The Toa grunted, his patience wearing thinner and thinner. There had to be something else in the room, there always was. He didn’t realize what until a flash of lightning illuminated the chamber. It struck Tollubo as odd. He had assumed the Vault would be behind layers of metal and walls. The presence of lightning meant that there was a window, which led the Toa of Light to ask himself where the lighting was coming from. He knew that the Coliseum’s power supply had been damaged in the storm so what little light was in the chamber was coming from outside. He scanned the walls until he found his desired window. It was an ancient thing. It looked like it had been ornamental even for the actual building. Tollubo could see brass and rusted railings holding the glass together. It was a wonder the frame was holding against the force of the storm. Tollubo watched as the Steltian Laborer struggled forwards, blocking his view of the window. The Glatorian with the Machine Gun started shouting at him but Tollubo wasn’t listening to him. He heard his voice but refused to listen to the words he said. The Toa of Light had seen his chance. He waited for the blue and white armored brute to reply to the Glatorian then turned to Jollun. The Toa of Light frowned, sensing something was wrong. When he finally realized it was too late. Tollubo smiled sadly then broke into a run. He charged forwards, smashing directly through one of the metal rack, sending broken Kanohi shards plummeting to the ground. All four intruders flinched at the sudden noise, including Tollubo’s target. He trailed off then turned to watch as the rack fell directly behind Tollubo. The Toa of Light gritted his teeth and willed himself on. The reaction time for the average member of the Laborer’s species was considerably slow but he wasn’t about to misjudge an opponent. That was what Makuta did, and he was no Makuta – he was the next worst thing the white and blue armored brute could have running towards him. The brute realized what was happening about a second before Tollubo slammed into him. He yelled as he rocked backwards and fell to the floor, just short of the window. Tollubo felt himself becoming visable again as Jollun struggled to maintain the effect of his Kanohi Nuva over the distance. He was out of range. Tollubo ignored the thought of bullets tearing into his back as he pulled his foot back and struck the laborer in the chest, with every ounce of strength he had. It was a kick that even Toa Pohatu would have been proud of. Tollubo’s armored heal struck his unfortunate victim square in the chest. He coughed and gasped for breathe as he rocketed backwards, directly into the window. The effect was spectacular. The frame was crushed as the glass smashed, bringing the screaming Steltian Laborer with it. For a long moment he seemed to hang there, in mid-fall through the shattered window frame, his ugly face stricken with fear. Tollubo watched as the blue and white armored brute was swept away and whipped out of sight by the storm. The Vault suddenly began to howl as the storm surged into the room. Pieces of broken Kanohi were swept across the room, pelting everybody in the Vault. The storm howled through the broken window as Tollubo struggled to stay on his feet. There was an almighty CRACK as the thunder finally echoed through the room. The entire Vault seemed to shake as Tollubo turned to face the three remaining members of the group that had attacked the Coliseum. The lead Glatorian snarled and tried to aim his gun at the Toa of Light. After spending a few precious seconds trying to hold the weapon steady over the force of the wind he gave up. A wise choice. Tollubo growled then whipped his sword out of his pack. There was blood in his eyes as he began to charge forwards towards the struggling Glatorian. Then, out of nowhere, a fist flew through the darkness and connected with Tollubo’s Kanohi Tryna. He grunted then stopped dead in his tracks. He wrenched his eyes shut then put his left hand to his Mask. When he pulled it away he was shocked to see blood. Angered, Tollubo swung his sword through the air in frustration. As his body swung with his sword, he caught a glimpse of his attacker. It was a female Glatorian clad in green and black armor. That caught him off guard. Fighting Glatorian wasn’t something he would usually bat an eyelid over, he had met dozens of members of the species on his travels. But the fact he was fighting a female was just wrong, morally wrong. He didn’t think females were any weaker than males, not by a long shot. Something just felt wrong in the pit of his stomach whenever he started a fight with a female. Usually he would just suck it up, puff his chest out, then get on with the fight but now he couldn’t. Probably because his opponent wouldn’t let him land a single blow. She dodged and weaved away from him, ducked under his swipes, twisted her body away from his fists, then managed to propel herself through the Toa’s legs. The Toa grunted and leaned forwards only to discover that she was already on her feet behind him. His ignorance earned him a sharp kick up the backside and a strangely painful jab in the chest. Tollubo grunted, shrugged the pain off, then turned to reface the Glatorian. But he couldn’t. Another jab cut into his left thigh and his entire leg caved. The Toa cried out as he crumpled to the ground, his leg completely paralyzed. He swore then tried to land a punch on the Glatorian only for her to grab his arm, bend it backwards painfully, then jab him in the throat. That was Tollubo’s breaking point. The pain was greater than he could possibly have imagined. It couldn’t have hurt that much. It shouldn’t have. He didn’t understand what was happening. How had she paralyzed him by jabbing him in the leg with her fingers? Why had the jab to his throat hurt him so much. There was a burst of Light and the green Glatorian hissed, reeling back to tend to her singed armor. At first Tollubo thought it had been the lightning but the fact that Jollun was now at his side made him rethink. The Toa of Light wrapped his arm around Tollubo’s shoulder then hoisted him back to his feet. The Toa felt a familiar tingle as Jollun’s Huna Nuva activated and they both disappeared from sight once again. He chuckled silently as the two Glatorian and the Vortixx began panicking, wondering where they had disappeared to. Jollun didn’t speak until they were hidden safely behind one of the few untouched shelves. “Are you alright?” asked the Toa, his voice as quiet as a grave. “No,” spluttered Tollubo as he struggled to breathe. “That damn Kavinika jabbed me in the throat.” “Can you still fight?” “I don’t know” grunted Tollubo in response. “Everything feels fuzzy and unfocused.” Jollun’s eyes closed as he wrenched them shut. Unfocused was like a buzz-word to Toa. A Toa needed to focus in order to use their Elemental Powers. If they could not concentrate then they could not make the link between their mind and their body that was needed to use their powers. “Try making a beam of Light.” Tollubo shrugged and raised his hand. He tried directing his focus to his hand then imagining a beam of Light sparking from it. When nothing happened he looked at Jollun fearfully. “I can’t. The link’s broken.” Jollun nodded slowly then glanced at the three remaining intruders. “We can’t let them get away with the Ignika” he muttered. “Can’t you just walk up to them and snatch it off them?” “You mean touch it? You know I’m not a destined bearer. Haven’t you heard that legend about the Great Being who touched that damn mask?” “But they have guns” grunted Tollubo as he eyed the lead Glatorian. He appeared to have finally regained his stance and was holding his Machine Gun with two hands now. The Ignika must be tucked away in his pack. There was no way he could miss a shot. “Well we have to do something” replied Jollun, his tone icy and definite. “We can’t just let them walk out of here with the Ignika.” “I know” sighed Tollubo as he rubbed his head. He breathed in deeply then breathed out again before speaking. “What’s to stop us just walking up to him – concealed by you mask – slit his throat, then take the Ignika back off of him?” Jollun stared at Tollubo as if he had just suggested them walk away with the Mask. “The Toa Code? You never kill your opponents, that’s the first thing you ever learn as a Toa.” “Well I must have missed that class” grunted Tollubo as he eyed the Glatorian again. “Well, can it work?” Jollun paused then shrugged. “Not sure I agree with killing him but yes, it should work.” “Whatever” sighed Tollubo. “You don’t have to kill him. Maybe just hit him with a laser or something.” Jollun sighed then clicked his fingers. Almost instantly there was a scream and the lead Glatorian fell to the ground, dropping his chain gun as he crumpled to the ground. There was a neat burn mark across his right shoulder. “Why couldn’t you have just shot a couple of lasers at their heads?” “Because that would be murder” answered Jollun, his eyes burning as he glared at Tollubo. “Toa don’t kill. We’re not monsters, simple as that. We’re meant to stop people who kill.” The Toa of Light shrugged then slipped past the rack, leaving Jollun behind. He approached the blue and black armored Glatorian slowly. Only then did Tollubo notice the blue Hau Nuva that he was wearing as chest armor. The Toa wondered how many Toa this Glatorian had killed to find the correctly colored mask. The rookie Toa of Light slipped past the Vortixx and the female Glatorian as they backed inwards to circle their leader. He wanted to laugh, to land a punch in the female’s face for embarrassing him earlier. He wanted to do a lot of things in that second. He wanted to snatch the Vortixx’s Cordak Blaster off of him and spray all three intruders with Cordak missiles. But he chose not to. Jollun was right, Toa don’t kill. If they did then their souls would be as dark and twisted as the monsters they battled against. He would fight against himself every time he looked in a mirror, and he looked in the mirror a lot. Tollubo stepped over the blue and black armored Glatorian. He was lying face-down and that was the way he was going to stay when Tollubo was finished with him. He wanted to pull out his sword and hack the monster to bloody shreds. The blood lust was boiling in his heart-stone, throbbing through his head, pumping dark thoughts through his brain. He wanted to kill them. But Tollubo never got the chance, the second his hands wrapped around the Glatorian’s pack it burst into flames. The Toa of Light yelled then stumbled backwards, he hand burning. The Vortixx and female Glatorian turned to face him. When their eyes widened at the flame he realized he was still invisible. They were merely stunned by the floating fire. Tollubo didn’t have time to put the fire out. He wasn’t sure how his hand had suddenly become alight but that didn’t matter. He shrugged to himself then grabbed the Vortixx’s ugly head, pressing his burning hand against his flesh. Cobarox yelled as the burn suddenly appeared on his face then bent over, trying to nurse the pain. The female Glatorian, on the other hand, wasn’t as slow. She couldn’t see Tollubo but that didn’t stop her from pummeling him. The Toa was immediately overwhelmed by more jabs, kicks, and punches. He growled as he started thrashing his arms out, trying to strike the contortionist of a Glatorian to no avail. ''Where was Jollun? Was he still visible?'' Tollubo didn’t know the answer to either question but he needed Jollun in that moment and that was all his understood. Another punch landed on Tollubo, this time it struck him directly in the center of his belly. He gasped as the air was pounded out of his lungs. The Toa swore then flung his fist wildly at his attacker. She didn’t even have to dodge. Luckily for the winded Toa of Light, the fight was interrupted by an almighty CRASH. Lightning tore through the sky and Thunder caused the Vault to shake. When the chamber had been illuminated there was another crash and a new door opened, a door that he had not seen before. As the metal parted the hunched figure of Turaga Matoro appeared. His Noble Iden became creased and threatening as the Lightning blazed. The Turaga hobbled forwards as the fighting stopped and everyone in the room turned to face him. “You fools” he muttered while shaking his head. “You think you can simply walk away with the most dangerous artifact in this Universe?” The female Glatorian snorted then stepped forwards. “And you intend to stop us, Turaga? What are you going to do? Hit us with your stick then send us to the naught corner?” Thunder boomed and the chamber shuddered once again. Tollubo nearly lost his footing and narrowly missed falling over. Matoro cracked a smile. “The Ignika will do that for me for it is not yours to steal. The Mask will curse you for taking it away from here. That’s what makes it so dangerous.” The Turaga paused to chuckle then grew serious again. “It has a mind of its own. It feels things. It thinks of new ways to torture you, and it will destroy you.” Tollubo swallowed then glanced at the three intruders. Suddenly they didn’t seem so threatening. They had broken into a Tower to steal a Kanohi, a Kanohi that they were afraid of. They did not understand what power the Mask possessed, all they knew was that they were to transport it to their masters. Matoro was right, it was going to destroy them. Silence hung in the chamber only for it to be interrupted by the Thunder. The sky seemed to crack as Lightning sparked in the heavens. Finally, the lead Glatorian decided to stand up. “Well then” he muttered. “We’ve come this far, I think it would be a waste of an opportunity if we turned around and headed back now.” “What do you mean?” warned Tollubo as he took a step closer to the Glatorian, ready to throw himself in front of the gun if it meant he had a shot at ripping the Ignika out of his hands. The Glatorian smiled wickedly then gestured to his two allies. The female Glatorian nodded then swung her leg and kicked Tollubo square in the Mask. He grunted but held his ground before the Vortixx threw himself on top of Tollubo, sending him tumbling to the ground. “To go down in history” answered the Glatorian with a sly smile. “To be the ones who stole the Ignika from a team of Toa – “ his smile widened as his gaze fixed on Matoro. “And be the one who carried out the assassination of Turaga Matoro.” To Tollubo’s horror, the Glatorian raised his Machine Gun with one hand, aimed the muzzle at Matoro’s head, then pulled the trigger. Tollubo closed his eyes and looked away. There was a solid THUMP as Matoro’s lifeless body hit the floor. ''He had failed. ''

Continuity Notes

 * Throughout the serial, Tollubo and Jollun make references to the events of Ghosts of the Past and Karabak.
 * Fractures counterparts of pre-existing characters - such as Matoro, Mesa, Saran, Jollun and Karabak - make appearances or are mentioned in the serial.
 * In chapter 3 Harma mentions that he will be threatened by waking up to find a Muaka's head in his bed. This is a reference to The Godfather where a character wakes up to find a horse's head wrapped between his arms.
 * In chapter 4 Tollubo mentioned that the four people he cared most about were in the room, which were Betak, Jollun, Eselox, and Mesa. Previously, he had only felt this way for Jollun and Betak. This indicates that his relationship with Eselox had strengthened by this point.
 * Tollubo throws a power fit in chapter 4, which is a recurring trait of the character.
 * Tollubo also mentions the guilt he felt when the Deserts of Death universe version of Mesa died and, for a second time in the entire saga - Tollubo had an argument with a version of Mesa. (Battle of Bara Magna).

Trivia

 * Whispers in the Dark was named after the Skillet song of the same name.