Perspectives

This article was written by Chicken Bond. Please do not add to it without the writer's permission.

Perspectives
Story
Setting	Fractures Universe - Metru Nui
Date Set	1,003 AGC
Timeline
Previous	Whispers in the Dark
Next	Over Your Shoulder

Perspectives is a short story written by Chicken Bond. The story is set in the Fractures Universe and revolves around the ruthless Toa bounty hunter Thode after he is hired to partake in a massive political conspiracy on Metru Nui.

Story

The Onu-Matoran was oblivious as to what was going on around him.

The thoughts of riches and glories were all that ran through his head, and the only thing he felt was the rough metal of the chair he sat on. His orange eyes were fixed upon the Vortixx who sat on the opposite side of a small wooden table.

Beside them, large crates made of a dull metal gleamed slightly in the dimly lit room. Each one was piled on top of each other, which gave the impression that several miniature mountains had sprung out of the ground to fill the space. The two sat directly underneath the dim light of a dying Lightstone that had been built into the ceiling of the spacious room. To say the atmosphere was tense, at least for the Matoran, was much like saying that it was chilly in Ko-Metru.

From across the room, the Xian female fidgeted with the tips of her fingers, an obvious sign of boredom. The Matoran knew he couldn't allow her to remain bored. Mustering the courage to speak, the nervy dealer rose to his feet and initiated the business.

“On behalf of the Kraata Purge, I'd like to thank you for setting aside the time to talk with us.”

The Vortixx did not reply, her eyes still fixed on her fingers. The Matoran felt a trickle of sweat furrow his mask's brow. She was losing interest faster than he had hoped. With more than a hint of desperation present in his tone, the Matoran continued.

“As you may know, the local law enforcements in Elysium have begun to encroach on the Kraata Purge’s turf. We cannot allow this to continue, which is why we are so willing to open up diplomatic channels with the esteemed manufacturers of—”

The Vortixx sighed irritably as she finally brought her eyes up to meet her client's, causing the Matoran to falter in his speech as he met her gaze.

“Are all you Purge bikers really this spineless? Cut to the chase.”

The Matoran quietly gulped. Admittedly, he lacked the same... violent disposition that other members of the gang seemed to have, but he made up for this with the power of words. Before becoming the ‘legal representative’ of the Purge, he had been a successful lawyer. He was a courteous negotiator, and had more than once managed to bail the Purge out of compromising legal disputes with the local Elysium law enforcement. He was renowned for being confident and calm in the trial rooms, but negotiating with Vortixx arms dealers was something else entirely.

“If the Purge lacked backbone, then we wouldn't be making these deals with you. If you agree to this contract and supply us, then it will allow us to show Metru Nui that we are not to be trifled with. We are becoming, for lack of a better word, serious.”

The Vortixx leaned forward, her fierce orange eyes giving the impression of a fiery rage, yet paradoxically having the feel of a blizzard.

“And you are aware of the prices we charge for the production of these...” her eyes scanned the tablet that listed the Purge’s wants. "Products.”

“We are,” the Matoran replied firmly.

There was a brief pause between the two, which carried with it the affirmation of the deal and prompted speculation on what would happen next. After nearly a five second pause, the Vortixx rose from her chair and lifted a large metal crate onto the tabletop. The table’s wooden legs buckled under the stress of the box's weight.

“If you are willing to pay us, then we will not turn you down. Normally, we would simply hand out a catalogue and let you pre-order your items, but fortunately for you, I have brought a few... samples of our products. Something to whet your appetite for now.”

As the dealer lifted the lid off the container, the Matoran's eyes widened in shock at the sight of the high-grade weaponry that lay before him. Cordak Blasters, Plasma Launchers, Pulse Blasters, a few Steltian Predator Rifles and even one Xian Chain Gun. The Matoran felt his body beginning to tremble at the mere thought of what the Kraata Purge could do with one of these gun cache alone. He could hardly imagine what they could do with a greater supply of these weapons.

It then came to the Matoran's attention that another two caches lay next to the Vortixx's feet, which contained a huge supply of Cordak ammunition. This was serious business. The Xian female continued to speak.

“Despite Xia’s alliance with Turaga Matoro after you allowed our refugees into your city, we can see this being a very lucrative endeavour. I may not speak on behalf of my people, but I speak on behalf of my employers.”

“Of course,” replied the Matoran amiably, his confidence finally returning.

“This deal cannot be made known, however. If it became public knowledge, we could be accused of treason, which would make trade... difficult.”

“We will honour the terms of your agreement,” said the Purge representative.

“Good,” the Xian answered smoothly. “Now, on the subject of payment, we believe that...”

---

The words of the nameless Vortixx trailed off into the warehouse, her voice becoming more incomprehensible the further out it echoed. Her words were bureaucratic and cold, traits that could be discerned even to the Matoran thugs who patrolled the shadowy catwalks above. Though filled to the brink with goods and cargo from Metru Nui's various allies, the warehouse was far from a secure. With the war with the Brotherhood of Makuta raging across the universe, Turaga Matoro and his council had been forced to be practical in deciding which areas required the highest levels of protection, for fear of stretching their defence force too thin.

Unsurprisingly, when the hotheaded Turaga Vilnius announced that the bulk of the city's security would be focused on industrial areas instead of merchant regions or even popular social hotspots, there had been a lot of controversy. Several traders had rallied together to form an angry mob, and even Toa Lhikan had put in a word or two with the Turaga Council. The final straw was when a number of Ga-Matoran students purposely refused to attend their schools for two weeks to lead a peaceful protest outside the Coliseum.

This forced Vilinus to face the public, and though he did concede to some of their demands, his overall decision remained unchanged. Whilst this decision had strengthened the defences of the city's tactically significant locations, it had left other places more exposed. This warehouse had once been used by traders to store trivial items like imported souvenirs; now it was being used as the site of an illegal weapons trade.

This had made the hired thugs relaxed and sluggish, as they knew nobody in their right mind would dare to try and attack this place. As the Vortixx’s words continued to float through the nighttime air, the guards began to regroup on one of the larger catwalks that stretched from both sides of the warehouse. The Xian and the Kraata Purge agent were in clear sight from this spot. The musclemen seated themselves on a number of chairs and crates, and soon after, one of the Po-Matoran began to boast about one of his earlier jobs.

“Right, so this was way back in Po-Metru. I was locked up in one of the local prisons near one of those old Vahki Hives. I was charged with assault and property damage, or something like that. Then, the police chief chose to drop by. So we sat around for a bit, tryin’ to determine the extent of my ‘crimes’, when all of sudden, I leapt up, slammed his head into the desk and knocked him out cold.

“Then, I crept up on the two guards, took ‘em out with a head-bash, then snuck out of the prison. Honestly, that was enough to prove that I am the greatest escape artist ever. When this is done I should try and become an assassin. I’d be the best in the business. Then I-”

There was a distant clank from the opposite end of the catwalk. It was fairly quiet but enough to get the thugs’ attention.

“What was that?” asked one of the goons.

“You expect us to know?” growled the Po-Matoran. He then spun around and pointed at the two thugs behind him, a Ta-Matoran and an Onu-Matoran.

“You two go check it out. Probably just a Stone Rat, but why take chances, right?”

The two Matoran stared back blankly, then walked off, their feet clunking noisily on the dull steel as they advanced. It didn’t take long for them to get to the other end of the catwalk, which then led on to another one built into the side of the building. The only things on this side were a few crates and toolboxes. Though it was dark in this part of the warehouse, enough light was being cast from below to give the thugs a general understanding of their surrounding.

Lumbering forward, the two guards started looking for the cause of the noise, lazily looking behind boxes and through the girders of the platform. Eventually, a loud clank was made when the Ta-Matoran kicked something metallic as he was moving forward. Kneeling down, the Matoran’s hand fumbled in the dark until it passed across a thin line. Lifting himself, the thug found himself inspecting an old spanner.

“Looks like a spanner fell out of one of the toolboxes,” he barked to his comrade. “Stone Rat must’ve scurried across the kit and decided it would be fun to knock one of the instruments out.”

The Onu-Matoran approached his colleague and examined the box.

“It doesn’t make sense though,” he said suspiciously. “Look at this kit; the tools are all neatly implemented and stored. Why would a Stone Rat pass by a toolbox, take an interest in it and enter it, then specifically remove a spanner and drop it. Why not just knock the whole toolbox over? It doesn’t make any sense.”

As the two bruisers contemplated the situation, their eyes failed to trace a movement in the shadows beside them. The darkness shifted slightly; the movement was so minor it was hardly noticeable. Abruptly, the shadows began to take form as a pair of predatory yellow eyes flashed. Slowly, a white and orange figure began to emerge from the very darkness that had been his sanctum mere seconds ago. Slowly, he crept towards the two Matoran thugs, his arms perched as he edged closer and closer…

“Well, looks like all we can do is report back,” said the Onu-Matoran to his comrade, who was already walking away from him. “Maybe it’s best if we do a sweep around her-”

Silence. The Ta-Matoran thug, whilst lacking in intelligence, was certainly experienced enough to know an abrupt cut-off from his partner was a bad sign. Slowly, he turned around, every sense on edge; he clenched his fists as his brow furrowed in concentration. Finally, his gaze met the shadows. And there, staring back at him, were a pair of shining yellow eyes.

---

A side approach then one low kick to the knee. An uppercut punch followed by a quick grasping of the chin and a snap of the neck. That is all it took for him to kill the two foolish bruisers who had been lured to him by the noise he had made. Normally, any high-class killer would have seen this as sloppy mistake, but this one had done it intentionally. It had been his way of drawing out a few of the guards to assess their abilities, a mere twist of the knife to determine their capabilities.

From his little test, he had determined that these employed bodyguards were nothing more than brute-force fighters; they had no skill or precision, just the ability to wave their firsts around like idiots. The assassin stared across from the shadows at the other guards, who were still lounging around the storage crates on the other catwalk.

Time to finish the job, he thought coldly.

Slowly the assassin stalked towards his prey, like a Shallows Cat on the hunt, every movement eclipsed by the shadows he had made his home. Each step he took towards the goons was a step more he took towards the conclusion of his hunt. Whilst he prided himself on his lack of morals, he had made it something of a rule to be selective of missions that provide him the greatest thrills and stimulation. He pleasured himself on the rush of adrenaline that went through his body as he ended his next victim’s life. Some had said that he walked the fine line between a psychopath and assassin, but he never thought there was any real difference.

Finally, his targets were in range, and just before he leaped on them, the ghost of a smile crinkled the edges of masked mouth. Then, all of a sudden, everything happened at once. The assassin lunged at a Po-Matoran – the obvious group leader – and snapped his neck in seconds. Then, as the other thugs began to realise what was happening, he elbowed a Le-Matoran in the neck before turning and snapping the neck of a charging Fe-Matoran.

Abruptly, the assassin found himself encircled by the last four thugs, one of which was holding a nasty-looking mace, but that did not deter him. Normally, brutes like these would have called out for help or try to alert their employers of the situation, but this infiltrator had long since mastered the art of fear. Whilst his stance was neutral, his unblinking predatory eyes installed terror into his opponent’s hearts that made them too scared to call out, and made them subconsciously start trembling. Using this fixating gaze as a distraction, the assassin slowly drew a tiny razor from a miniature compartment in his wrist armour.

The blade itself was tiny, but the edges were as sharp as the tip of a freshly forged sword. Coated on the blade was a light green substance, which seemed venomous to the touch. Now prepared, the assassin launched himself into the air like an acrobat, dancing in midair with the fluid grace of a dancer and the shifting nature of water. When he landed with a forward role, he drew his arm forward and lashed out, struggling to hold back a grin as he sliced through two of the thug’s necks. Immediately, the poison took effect and the guards dropped to the floor like dislodged boulders.

The assassin then turned to the remaining two bodyguards, who were staring at him with wide eyes in light of his supernatural feats. Using this to his advantage, the assassin threw his blade in-between one of the thugs’ eyes before dashing forward and punching the last one in the stomach. The murderer then grabbed the bruiser’s head and forced it back, generating that light popping sound that came with a lethally twisted neck. The assassin then assumed a casual position, his attack finally completed.

One minute, the infiltrator thought. My, my, I must be getting lazy. Must remember to work faster in future.

It was at this point that the assassin became aware of a light groaning. Turning back, he saw the Le-Matoran he had elbowed earlier squirming on the floor, his hands at his throat as he wallowed in pain. The assassin walked over to the petty criminal slowly, relishing the moment as he heard the subtle sound of rapid breathing. Kneeling next to him, the assassin chuckled as he stared deep into the terrified Matoran’s eyes.

“My most sincere apologies, but you appear to be in my spot.”

With his remark said, the murderer clenched his left hand tightly as it began to glow a bright orange. In mere seconds, the fist was charged with a sphere of plasmatic superheat. Wide-eyed in terror, the Le-Matoran attempted to get up, but it was already too late. The assassin’s palm glued itself onto the Matoran’s mouth, causing an overwhelming expression of pain to dominate the victim’s face.

He attempted to scream as the heat ate through his mask and face, but his killer’s grasp was too strong to let his wails seep through his grasp. His mask melted like a pebble in lava, and soon his whole face began to glow a sickly orange. Drops of thick, hot liquids slithered through the girders as the killer muffled the Matoran’s screams, which were now turning into a horrible gurgling sound.

A second passed. Two more. Then, the Le-Matoran stopped resisting and went limp.

Slowly, Thode rose from the body, a twisted feeling of satisfaction radiating in his mind. He smiled slightly as he flexed his fingers. Glad to see I haven’t lost my touch.

With the guards now addressed, there were no longer any barriers between Thode and his targets. Striding over to one of the nearby crates, the Toa grasped two of the buckles and unclipped them, causing the box to hiss lightly as its pressurized lid was raised to reveal its contents. Before Thode lay his means of destruction. It was compressed neatly into the plush foam of the crate, and the tool itself gleamed in the darkness. Thode stroked his weapon of trade affectionately as he removed it from its container.

To the naked eye, it was a fancy-looking sniper rifle, but to Thode it was much more. It was a work of art, a vision of beauty. The rifle was sleek and smooth to the touch; despite its appearance, it was a lot lighter than it actually seemed. Thode himself had worked closely with a group of elite Vortixx artisans roughly 52,00 years ago. Much time and money had been committed into the project and dozens of prototypes had been discarded for being just a fraction below expectations.

However, when the final version was completed and tested, Thode, the designers and project leaders had all watched in awe as the weapon surpassed all Xian projections. It was expected to be a revolutionary product, had Thode not chosen to steal the schematics and kill a few of the weapons-smiths in the process. That had made the rifle’s investors particularly unhappy.

Thode turned to the handrail and rested the rifle upon the metal bar, then attached the sightings and adjusting the telescopic lenses for the shot. Finally, the Toa activated the gun’s unique energy core. During production, it was found that the weapon would be unable to channel any elemental powers its users may have, a drawback that could be particularly fatal by Thode. However, Vortixx ingenuity prevailed yet again, and they had since installed a gadget that made every shot incendiary, allowing him to burn through armor, barriers and covers with surprising ease.

With his set-up completed, Thode looked down his scope, his cursor hovering gently over his target’s head. Despite the commotion that had been occurring up on the catwalks, the Vortixx and her Matoran client had still not noticed a thing due to the intensity of their negotiations. A mistake that neither of them would live to regret.

Steadily, Thode focused on the Vortixx and took the shot. The rifle jolted violently; whilst efficient, the weapon’s kickback could be a killer sometimes, though a trained professional like Thode knew how to handle himself. Despite this, he still saw what happened to his target.

The Vortixx’s head exploded into a thousand fiery fragments, as her headless body collapsed to the floor. Her body jolted and twitched for a few seconds, a quirk of her nervous system due to the loss of its command centre. The incendiary touch had made the blast extra deadly, yet the fact that there was no collateral damage just summarised Thode’s expertise. Immediately, the Onu-Matoran was up on his feet and panicking, hyperventilating at an amazing speed as he tried to soak up what had just happened. Without even thinking, the Matoran turned and began to run away, even as Thode’s cursor trailed after him.

Oh, I don’t think so, the murderous Toa thought to himself. Abruptly, it came to Thode’s attention that two crates of Cordak ammunition now lay exposed at the table where the Vortixx’s body now rested. Thode smiled.

This is going to be fun!

---

Racasix leaned against a wall in a darkened back alley, dim orange light bathing her nimble and smooth form. Although the rest of the alleyway was cast in a deep blanket of shadow, Racasix had chosen the one area that shone the best amount of light to stand. Despite the complaints of her peers, she did not embrace the art of subtly, and many had described her as the Service’s least secret agent. She would happily make herself stand out in the most outrageous ways, without even making a feeble effort to disguise herself. It broke every single rule in a spy’s handbook, but she didn’t care. After all, why would someone as attractive as herself want to make herself blend in with her surroundings?

The vague outline of a frown creased her face for a split second. News of the explosion at the warehouse had spread like a wildfire, and her contact was supposed to be here by now. News spread quickly in Metru Nui; gossip, intrigue, drama and all other forms of news always took top priority these days. They proved to be fantastic distractions from the horrors that the war had inflicted upon the universe. And seeing as Metru Nui still remained the ultimate cradle of power of their world, then any news that came from this island city would be the news of the rest of society.

So it definitely wouldn’t be long before the news of a warehouse exploding in the docks of Le-Metru would be common news in every Steltian tavern. But not only that, Racasix hated contacts who were late. Whilst she stood out in public, she was at least always punctual.

Suddenly, Racasix noticed a shadow shift for a microsecond in the alley. Her muscles instantly tensed, though she fought back her predatory instincts so she could better observe the situation. Whatever had moved, it was clearly no Stone Rat or vermin. Matoran were obviously too clumsy to move so quickly in the darkness and Toa were even worse. They art of subtly, without relying on the power of a Kanohi, was not one of the Toa’s traits. Except for, perhaps, one.

Racasix's lips curved into a playful smile, as if she had just done something unspeakably mischievous. She liked it when her contacts got her adrenaline pumping, regardless of how brief it was.

“I’m flattered you went out of your way to impress me, but really, I’m not here to be flattered. To be honest, I’m impressed you're not groveling at my heels, like most of the Toa around here, but your dossier did say you were unique.”

A figure emerged into the dim circle of light that bathed the Vortixx assassin, his white and orange armour gleaming brightly. Racasix was surprised that the colours hadn’t stood out as much as she’d expected them to in the shadows of the alley. But then again, Toa Thode was renowned for being an unmatched infiltration specialist. He knew how to disguise himself.

The two predators circled each other gracefully, their eyes boring holes into each other’s skulls. Though it looked like they were preparing to leap at each other, the two had no desire to attack. This circling was more or less a professional courtesy. Both of them were top-notch assassins, after all. They may as well express some of their weariness towards one another.

“What else did your reports say about me?” the Toa asked. His tone was neutral and devoid of emotion.

Racasix smiled. “That you are ruthless, pragmatic, totally detached, callous and so cruel you could give a Skakdi warlord a run for his widgets. Surprisingly, it also said you are not motivated by profit or greed.”

Thode shrugged. “Some hunters do things for the money, some do it for wanton slaughter and body count. I do things for the sheer love it.”

Racasix’s eyes narrowed a fraction in curiosity.

“You are interesting study, Toa Thode, but back to the business at hand. The official claim at the present is that the molten Protodermis piping systems clogged up, and the resulting pressure build-up caused the entire system to explode and bring down the warehouse. I personally made sure there was enough evidence to prove this. Your handling of the arms dealing could’ve been a bit subtler, but I’m sure the explosion was so loud it deafened the local law enforcement agencies to any other alternative. Plus, the evidence I’ve planted is very authentic.”

Thode titled his head. “Is that your job then? You’re the Xian Secret Service’s ‘cleaner’? The one who destroys all incriminating evidence of Vortixx foul play? And to think I just assumed you were another pretty face the Service employed as a field agent.”

Racasix grinned a cheeky grin. “I’ll take that as a compliment,” she said in a flirty tone. “But you’re not my type.”

“Who said I was interested?” Thode asked.

“Your body language, perhaps, but let’s not get distracted. On behalf of my people, we thank you for your service. You have just saved us a huge amount of political turmoil.”

“Why did you hire me?” interjected Thode before Racasix could continue. “The Vortixx have some of the best assassins and stealth operatives in the universe in their employment. It’s not a rumour. It’s a fact. Why would you need to hire a mercenary to do your job?”

If Racasix was fazed by Thode’s very blunt and rude questions, she did not show it.

“The Vortixx have a very important, yet delicate, alliance with the Matoran of Metru Nui. Our well being is entirely dependent on this political agreement for the foreseeable future. The arms dealer you assassinated was a representative of one of Xia’s wealthiest corporations. They are also one of our must cutthroat businesses. If they were caught selling some of the world’s most dangerous weaponry to a street gang who could very quickly transform into a terrorist group, we would be held responsible for any damage they caused. And that would be very bad for business.”

“You still haven’t answered my question,” Thode said as he folded his arms.

Racasix smiled again, yet the dim, flickering light made her face seem almost sinister. “You’re blunt and down-to-the-point. You don’t respect authority figures. I like that a lot, but it’s not going to get you far.”

“Don’t presume to tell me how to do my job.”

“I wouldn’t dream of doing so. But to answer your question, the Service does not want to be tied to this ordeal. Regardless of the outcome, this is still a political assassination. The heads of the corporation that that representative worked for would no doubt try to pull strings to have us punished. The city’s Turaga would be offended that we did not share the nature of this operation with them.”

“So why not just tell them and get the Toa to stab them instead?” inquired Thode. Racasix hesitated for a split second.

“If we told them one of our most powerful corporations, who frequently trade with the Metru Nui officials, was now openly trading with criminals, we’d be held responsible for that. Business is politics on Xia and the Matoran do not understand that. We do not interfere with our trading powers’ doings unless it is absolutely necessary. This is one of those scenarios.”

Thode chuckled. “So you hired me to do your dirty work, in case evidence was found that linked the assassination back to you; So that you couldn’t be blamed for the murders. And knowing how ‘respectable’ the Service is, the Toa would never suspect one of their allies’ most efficient spy networks would dare to hire one of the universe’s deadliest assassins. They’d just assume it was some disgruntled crime boss. Bravo, you double-faced viper, bravo.”

Racasix sighed, though the smile did not leave her face. “I was hoping to break that plot twist to you myself, but you don’t get everything you want in life.”

She then turned and grabbed something from outside the circle of light that the two assassins stood within. When her arm returned, she was holding a jet-black briefcase. She extended her arm forwards.

“Here is your payment. You will find that everything we promised you is in there.”

Thode courtesy grabbed the briefcase and opened it, carefully double-checking to make sure it had everything he had charged for in it. In his line of work, Thode had learned it was better to not take the word of his employers when they said they had given him everything they had promised. After deciding that the pay was satisfactory, he closed the brief case and gave Racasix his best two-tone granite stare.

“Pleasure doing business with you.”

---

Thode chose to perch himself in a shadowy booth that was separated him from the rest of the room, though still kept an eye on all the numerous individuals that past him by. They couldn’t see him in the darkness of his little corner, but he was still weary of this place’s patrons. Occasionally, one or two people would meet his gaze and instantly melt under its cold and murderous gleam.

For the fourth time, he scanned the casino’s layout. He had seated himself on the main casino floor, where several pitiful individuals were already at the game stations and machines, making bets and stubbornly ignoring the fact that they were getting poorer every gamble.

A miniature frown crinkled the mouthpiece of Thode’s mask. Many times in the past, back when he was an amateur still trying to find his way in the business, he had been hired a number of times as a debt collector. He had been a good one, but he had disliked the work. Too many strings attached to it; too much begging and too many people depending on him. And he hated people depending on him.

So seeing all of these lowlifes, surrounded by the establishment’s exotic dancers (who constantly goaded them to keep gambling) just reminded him of all the reasons why he had come to hate so many casinos like this. This one was no better. It was one of Metru Nui’s dirtiest taverns, and was run by a rogue Skakdi named Hakann. Still, it didn’t stop him from meeting his associates here.

A hunched figure approached his table, a hooded, black cape wrapped around his entire body. Upon recognising him, Thode instantly reclined back into the comfortable leather armchair. His guest spotted him in an instant and hastily jogged over and took up a seat at the opposite end of the table Thode was sitting at. The individual dropped his hood to reveal his hideous face.

Thode did not need to examine the details of his associate’s face to know he was twisted, despicable and highly unpleasant. Still, he knew what he was doing.

“I suppose a finder’s fee is in order,” the hunchback said in a raspy voice, his beady eyes trying to bore holes into Thode’s face. The Toa refused to concede to the obvious fear he was trying to drill into him. He was the master of fear.

“Do not oversell your involvement in this job of mine,” Thode replied bluntly. “You did not give me details on my job nor any of its requirements. You simply informed me of the Vortixx seeking out an assassin; how you learned that information I have no idea. Regardless, don’t expect to be paid more than you deserve, you sniveling backstabber.”

His words obviously made his associate uneasy, who had begun to shrink in Thode’s presence.

“Certainly, sir. No questions asked. Now, I believe there are a number of clients wishing to contract your services on the Tren Krom Peninsula and several others wish to hire you for political espionage near the remnants of the Artakha Gardens. I suggest you go through these offers and see if….”

Thode was no longer paying attention, his contact’s words becoming bland and incomprehensible as allowed his focus to shift from the words entering his ears to somebody sitting down on the casino floor.

The Thode’s associate caught onto this very quickly, and traced his gaze to a blue-armoured Toa slouched on stool at the main bar. Numerous empty bottles and half finished glasses surrounded him, which was a clear pointer as to how much money had been wasting here. The associate turned back to look at Thode.

“Why’re you taking such an interest in that loser over there?” he asked suspiciously.

Thode did not reply.

“Wait a minute,” the associate said slowly, his eyes widening in realisation. “You’ve been hired to observe this guy. That would explain why you’ve made this gaudy pleasure palace your main base of operations for the last few weeks. But why’s he important? Who is that guy?”

“Just some nobody,” Thode replied, his tone neutral. There was a pause that felt like an eternity. The associate tensed, even though Thode’s gaze remained on the blue Toa down below.

“This meeting is now over,” he said, finally forcing himself to look away for the Toa and back at his contact. “I will investigate those business propositions you mentioned earlier. I will contact you if I need any more information from you.”

The associate bowed his he head in an effort to appear humble, then rose from the table and began to leave.

“Oh, and one more thing,” called Thode as he opened his briefcase. The associate turned around just in time to catch a single coin, which he proceeded to closely examine. It was a single Xian penny. He growled as he looked back up at Thode.

“There’s your finder’s fee,” Thode said, the ghost of a smile etched on his lips. The associate cursed and grumbled as he proceeded to the front door. Thode watched he as he left.

I should do that more often.

---

The Artakha Gardens.

That was where Thode’s associate had said someone was willing to hire him, something about political espionage. He really hadn’t been paying much attention at the time. It had been one hour since his meeting with his contact, and he had already found himself extraordinarily bored. Which had then motivated him to pursue one of the jobs he remembered his contact hearing in their discussion.

He strode through the dark streets of Ga-Metru cautiously, always sticking to shadows or places that were hidden in the corner of one’s eye. The Ga-Matoran were no strangers to looters or thieves. After all, when you slap an ancient temple in your district and fill it with priceless artefacts, it usually did attract a lot of attention.

Hence why all the latest security innovations and spy cameras had been sent to Ga-Metru; some were so good that they could even detect Thode if he were being lazy. Which was a shame, really, because Thode always liked to have the option of being lazy when sneaking to his destination. It made everyone else look so incompetent.

After another hour spent being overly cautious, Thode finally arrived at the Artakha Gardens. Or what was left it, anyway. The Gardens has been made very early on in Metru Nui’s history as a collaboration between the best Po-Matoran carvers and Ga-Matoran botanists. It was a beautiful little sanctuary close to the Protodermis Falls, created to commemorate what the Matoran could build through unity.

Then came the Makuta. When the Brotherhood declared war against the rest of the universe, a unit of Rahkshi and Exo-Toa led by Makuta Blazrox infiltrated Metru Nui through the bay of Ga-Metru. Rather than be tactful and use stealth, Blazrox had charged forwards in a manner so clumsily loud and obvious that it made a sleepy, lumbering Manas crab seem more graceful.

The Matoran defence forces quickly rallied, with Toa Lhikan himself personally leading the effort. Eventually, the Makuta were halted at the Artakha Gardens, where the Matoran managed to establish a firm line of defence. Both sides suffered heavy casualties yet both sides remained unyielding, with the Makuta continually hurling waves of offensive firepower and the Matoran remaining completely uncompromising. Finally, after a week of bloodshed, the Makuta gave in and retreated when their forces began to whittle away.

The Gardens were in absolute ruins by the time the attack had ended, and apart from a few memorial statues, no effort had been made to rebuild it. It had become a memorial, an area devoted remembrance and a reminder of the day when Metru Nui became truly of the war with the Brotherhood. Some had described it as the haunt of Ga-Metru.

Thode wondered past toppled pillars and collapsed walls, until he finally stood in the centre of the garden. Before he was a statue of Toa Lhikan standing over the body of Makuta Blazrox, who had been defeated during the retreat. The statue had become a symbol of Matoran patriotism. Leaning against the statue, Thode crossed his arms and waited. His potential employers would reveal themselves soon enough.

Thirty seconds passed. Then a minute. Then two. And then, finally, a small brown figure emerged from out of the shadows, flanked by a Po-Matoran bodyguard.

Figures, Thode thought to himself.

The small, brown figure quickly turned out to be a Turaga of Stone, a member of Turaga Matoro’s council, if he was not mistaken. Thode did not know him by name, though he had heard a lot about him. This Turaga had been a very outspoken, rivaling even Vilinus himself. He had become very unpopular for his particularly strong isolationist beliefs, openly declaring that Metru Nui would be much better if it simply relied on itself, rather than bother forming alliances with the Vortixx. It explained why he had never been invited to political events hosted for the Vortixx and Matoran ambassadors.

This is going to be interesting.

“Toa Thode,” the Turaga began. “I’m glad to see your associate forwarded on our job description to you. An assassin of your expertise is required for a matter as delicate as…”

“Cut to the chase,” Thode said bluntly. “Stop stating the obvious.”

The Turaga, clearly flustered and angry at Thode’s rudeness, recollected himself and continued.

“You are going to sabotage a delegation between the Vortixx and Matoran representatives, hosted in the Coliseum. This shall be done through your… special skills.”

Thode cocked his head. “I was told this mission was espionage.”

“This is highly sensitive information,” the Turaga replied. “If I had said it was political sabotage, and had it been intercepted before it reached your associate, then it could clearly be traced back to me. So I opted for something a little less suspicious.”

“Political espionage,” Thode said with a chuckle. “Because that’s so much less suspicious.”

Ignoring the Toa’s sarcasm, the Turaga continued. “The meeting will be held in the private chambers at the top of the Coliseum. The representatives will be escorted to the Turaga’s private box in the playing arena, which will then ascend to the chambers. I myself will be present at the event.”

“You?” Thode asked, fighting back another laugh. “If you’re going to this event, why do you need me to do all this sabotage? Surely your outspoken nature will be more than enough to sever the relations between the Matoran and the Vortixx.”

“I don’t think you understood what I meant by ‘sabotage,’” the Turaga said, taking a few steps closer as he did. “I don’t want to rig the talks, I want the Vortixx representative assassinated.”

There was a moment of silence before Thode smiled. “Now you’re talking.”

“You are going to kill the representative,” the Turaga repeated. “But in a way that doesn’t implicate me. Hence why I am going; I will be just as surprised by the murder as everyone else. No, instead, we will indicate that you were hired by a group of angry Ta-Matoran. Don’t worry, I’ve already selected a particular group to blame.”

“Why would a group of Ta-Matoran want a Vortixx representative dead?” asked Thode suspiciously.

“Ever since we began making ourselves cozy with the Vortixx, several Ta-Matoran began to fear that their foundries will be taken over by Vortixx designers and blacksmiths, putting a lot of them out of work. There have been a lot of outspoken protests in Ta-Metru over the years.”

“I see,” Thode said with a node. “So the Ta-Matoran are implicated, making the Vortixx totally unwilling to ally themselves with a society that will simply try to kill them at every turn. Not only that, but the sheer outrage that the Matoran were not able to protect their special guests from an assassin will ruin relations. The Vortixx then cut off their alliance with Metru Nui, you sweep in and use the momentum of this ‘tragedy’ to rally the Matoran behind your views, and then Metru Nui accepts your isolationist policies. And then – maybe as a bonus – you get an excuse to force all Vortixx refugees out of the city.”

The Turaga smiled. “Precisely. Will you take the job?”

Thode turned away and looked at the remains of the Gardens, contemplating the implications this mission would have.

“I’ve done a lot of chaotic stuff in my life, but nothing that would bring about as much change as this.”

He turned to face the Turaga, a grin on his face. “I’ll take the case.”

“Excellent!” the Turaga replied enthusiastically. “Here are the layout plans to the Coliseum; everything you’ll need to know so you can sneak in to the chambers are in these plans.”

As if responding to an unheard command, the Po-Matoran bodyguard walked up to Thode and handed him the layout plans.

“Lovely. Now then, how are we going to implicate these Ta-Matoran?” Thode asked, who now sounded genuinely interested.

“A Ta-Matoran who has concerns about the Vortixx moving in will be present at the event. He will be there to discuss the business industries of Ta-Metru. We are going to implicate him through this.”

The Po-Matoran pulled something out of his satchel to reveal a small recording device. The Turaga continued before Thode could inquire.

“Using various samples of his voice that we had previously taped, we have created a recording of him giving the order to carry out the assassination. The second before you execute the ambassador, you will broadcast this recording, which will be immediately picked up by the agents of the Vortixx Secret Service present. They will assume it is the Ta-Matoran authorising the kill via a personal communicator.”

Thode nodded slowly, processing all the information as he did.

“The meeting will held in the evening in two days time,” the Turaga said, who was already walking away into the shadows of the night. “I suggest you use this time to plan out how you’re going to carry out this assassination. You will be paid handsomely once the job is done.”

Thode looked at all the plans that had been dumped into his arms, then back at the departing Turaga.

“The Vortixx ambassador,” Thode called out. “Who is it?”

The Turaga looked back, his expression indicating he was surprised he hadn’t mentioned it earlier. “A female who has been working as the official liaison between the Vortixx and the Matoran in Metru Nui for some time now; some goon from their Service. I believe her name is Racasix.”

Thode fought back the urge to pull a face of total shock.

Oh dear, he thought.

---

Thode hated waiting for long periods of time. Waiting was also one of his least favourite words in existence. In fact, he was absolutely sure that waiting ranked second on his, “Things I Hate With A Passion” list, right after ridiculously happy Matoran on Naming Day. They were excruciatingly annoying.

But no matter what job he was asked to do, no matter which target he was asked to kill, no matter how many boring assignments he had been given, he had never ever been asked to wait two whole days before he had to actually carry out his assassination. It was driving him a little bit mad.

He had planned out how he was going to do perform his kill in roughly one hour, then revised it and double-checked it in about ten minutes. He was certain he would’ve gone totally insane if he had been asked to wait three days. Some bounty hunters could wait patiently during that time, knowing they were being paid for sitting around doing nothing, but Thode was a thrill-seeker and he just couldn’t do it.

But that wait was finally over and now here he was, preparing for the main event of his day. All the guests had arrived for the diplomatic evening; they officially began the evening about ten minutes following a tour of the Coliseum. But despite this, the final Vortixx security teams were being sent up to the Turaga’s chambers to assume their positions, even at this late point of the day. They had been asked to safeguard the evening in place of local Toa, who had been dealing with greater security matters.

Thode had managed to avoid most of the guards by hiding in the shadows, and had been using his “brave, hearty Toa” impersonation to full effect, quickly shooing off any wandering Matoran who came his way. It was an effective way to convince them to leave without asking too many questions.

For the third time this minute, Thode looked down the dimly lit corridor he had positioned himself in. Again, nobody in sight.

He had been lurking in the corridors of the Coliseum for hours now; he had already snuck up to the main chamber and established a position where he would do the deed. All his gear had been carefully placed stored there, including his beloved sniper rifle. Thode frowned at the thought of killing Racasix. Whilst he was not particularly fond of anyone (let alone his targets), Thode was well aware of how good Racasix was at what she did.

Though she didn’t seem like it, she was a spy of the greatest skill, and having performed many assassinations herself, she would know how to defend herself from them. Meaning Thode would have to put extra thought and care into assassinating her without leaving behind clues that would indicate he was after her.

Suddenly, Thode heard noises further down the corridor, and turned to see four feminine figures approaching him. Emerging from the shadows of his little corner, Thode approached the group.

“Hold up there,” he said, trying his best to incorporate the bravado most Toa had into his tone. “May I ask who you four are and what is your business here?”

The four Vortixx looked at him suspiciously, but the leader of the group stepped forward and answered his question.

“We’re the final part of our ambassador’s protection team,” she said aloofly. “We’re also the ones who keep record of all the individuals who are confirmed to be on the security details for tonight. May we ask who you are?”

“Toa Jovan,” Thode lied. “Toa of Plasma at your service. Part of Turaga Vilinus’ bodyguard team. You’ll find my name near the bottom of the last tablet.”

The third Vortixx on the left, who was clearly carrying all the records of the evening’s security, began flipping through the tablets. Thode waited a second before he spoke again.

“So… tonight’s event. How do you think it’s going to go?”

The lead Vortixx raised an eyebrow though chose to reply. “Provided you clumsy Toa don’t do anything to offend our diplomatic team, then everything will go splendidly.”

“Lovely,” Thode said in a darker tone. As his eyes began to twinkle with a predatory gleam, the Toa began to remove a small Firestaff from his back. The lead Vortixx noticed this, though before she could call out to her comrades, Thode had already ignited the staff at full blaze and bashed her in the face, killing her instantly. The other three Vortixx leapt into action, though Thode was one step ahead of them.

Charging at the three Service agents, Thode summersaulted over one of the Vortixx and kicked her in the back during his descent. She fell to ground violently, hitting her head against the wall on her descent and knocking her out cold. Thode then turned to face the last two agents, who had now removed their weapons from their holsters; two light revolvers. Obviously, they’d left their best toys at home. The two proceeded to open fire, forcing Thode to dodge the first several rounds as best he could, running this way and that to avoid their firepower. He was good at dodging, but these two were excellent marksmen. Several shots made their mark, but all they did was scorch his armour a bit.

When the two stopped to reload, Thode raised his arms into the air and summoned the full might of his elemental powers. At first, the two Vortixx smirked a bit when nothing happened, but then they began to frown and then wail in pain as they felt the inner layers of their armour melting. In mere seconds, the heat wave got them, and the two collapsed unconscious.

Thode examined the corridor; three unconscious Vortixx and a dead one with her face bashed in. He needed to turn that into four. In order to further implicate the Ta-Matoran, Thode had decided to kill these agents with a mask maker’s firestaff, a common crafting tool that could easily double as a blunt weapon. When their bodies were finally uncovered, the bruising and damage would have seemingly be done by the horrible Firestaff found not too far away from the corpses.

Ah yes, the bruising, Thode thought. Time to address that.

It was true. In order to plant more incriminating evidence that pointed at the Matoran of Fire, Thode had decided that all major body wounds would be dealt by the Firestaff he was using. The bludgeoning would also be done sloppily, so as to further suggest that it was less a trained professional behind the deaths than a group of unskilled but very angry smelters and mask makers.

Well then, Thode said as he approached the three unconscious Vortixx, who were now beginning to stir. Let’s get this over with.

---

The Vortixx guards were dead.

Thode had dumped their bodies under a loose floor panel, alongside the terribly dented Firestaff. With those four dead, the murderous Toa had risen to the Turaga’s private chambers with relative ease. The first thing he had noticed about the room was how bright and furnished it was. He had heard many stories of how Turaga Dume had kept the place dark and gloomy, with nothing more than a giant pool of water to decorate the place. But when Turaga Matoro had moved in, that had obviously all changed. Giant statues of Toa and Matoran were everywhere, whilst legendary masks and weapons lined the walls. Above, a number of giant Lightstones had been embedded in the ceiling, illuminating the room with bright, but very pleasant light.

The second thing that occurred to him was how practically nobody noticed him. The room was packed with Matoran, Turaga and Vortixx; all of them were too engaged in their current conversations to notice some lone Toa arrive. After all, the outcome of this meeting could change the paradigms of both Vortixx and Matoran society. Thode could see Racasix on the far side of the room, who was looking especially beautiful for the evening. Beside her was Turaga Matoro, who was no doubt discussing a very boring political matter.

Thode began to weave his way through the crowd. Timing was critical.

He approached a large statue of Toa Dume on the right-hand side of the room, where a large number of patrons were currently standing. Behind them, was a small doorway, which was no doubt some emergency escape route. Among the guests blocking his path, was his Turaga employer. Thode made his way to him, giving him a nod as he walked passed him. The Turaga of Stone caught the gesture and then proceeded to turn towards the other guests.

“My friends, allow me to show you one of the finest and newest sculptures to have emerged from Po-Metru. That statue in the centre of the room is a carving of the first Turaga who ever governed Metru Nui. Here, allow me to show you it in closer detail.”

Thode winced. Not the greatest or most convincing of excuses, but it seemed to do the trick. Once the various guests had finally left, Thode slowly approached the doorway. As he drew closer, he activated the taping device, which began to broadcast the fake recording of the Ta-Matoran to the communication interceptors of the nearby Vortixx agents, who were no doubt already worrying about the disappearance of their last four agents. Thode strode into a dim and narrow corridor, which was devoid of any contents, apart a variety of wires running along the walls and an odd-looking crate.

Thode smiled. Nobody ever bothered to check the contents of boxes these days.

Placing his hands on two buckles, Thode lifted the pressurized lid gently, though his eyes were still fixed on doorway that led back to the main room,. Thode didn’t need to look down to see what he was removing, for he knew that within the confines of this dull wooden box lay a weapon of mass….

What?! Thode’s eyes widened as he looked down at the empty panel he had just yanked open.

“Looking for this?”

Thode lurched around to make out the slim form of a very familiar person. Racasix smiled mockingly at the surprised Toa. It then came to Thode’s attention that a very familiar weapon lay in her hands.

“Well, well, well…” Thode said with a smile. “So you really aren’t just another pretty face.”

Racasix’s smiled widened. “I try my best not to disappoint.”

“I can tell,” Thode replied, as he began to slowly edge towards his Vortixx target. “That decoy back in the main room was pretty enough to convince even me that she was you. Though to be fair, I spied her from a distance. How did you know I was after you?”

The two began to circle each other.

“It was easy, dear,” Racasix began. “We’ve been watching your Turaga friend for some time now. Spying on his dealings, taking notes on his opinions, deducing his intentions. It became clear very quickly that he would be a real menace to the alliance between Xia and Metru Nui. He wanted to sabotage our relations through any means necessary…”

“So you tracked his movements to see if he would make the first move,” Thode added as he slowly began to retrieve a small, poisoned blade from a compartment in his wrist.

“Of course,” Racasix replied. “We knew hosting a meeting right here in Metru Nui would be too delicious an opportunity to miss, especially with my people’s ambassador attending. Your employer was too stupid to realise that I’m not the actual representative of the Vortixx people. To him, we Vortixx are all the same.”

“But…?” The blade dropped into Thode’s hand. Racasix still seemed oblivious to this.

“But then I had your Turaga friend tracked down to the Artakha Gardens, where quite surprisingly, we saw him hiring you. So, knowing that I was probably the best candidatel to stop and sabotage, we arranged for a decoy to take my place so I could be here to stop you."

“So the decoy is using a second decoy to be the decoy for Vortixx ambassador,” added Thode with a smile. “How cute and unsurprisingly complex, but it doesn’t change anything. Seeing as the real Vortixx ambassador isn’t here, I shouldn’t bother targeting you’re stand-in over there. I was hired to kill you, and you appear to have my sniper rifle.”

“Funny that,” Racasix said as she clipped the weapon onto her back.

After staring down each other for five seconds, the two assassins sprung into action. Thode lunged at Racasix, blade in hand, though she was faster than Thode expected, and she dodged the blade attack with surprising grace. Thode spun around just as quickly and attempted to take out her legs, though the Vortixx reflexes were again too good, as she not only able to dodge the move but counter it with a kick to the jaw.

Thode went flying backwards and his hand instantly went to his jaw, which he flexed lightly. She’d succeeded in dislocating his mask a bit.

That’s a first.

Deciding that the blade would become too limiting, Thode instead hurled the poisoned piece of metal at his Vortixx rival. The blade zoomed through the air at an incredible speed, forcing Racasix to dive to the floor in order to avoid it. Using this to his advantage, Thode charged forward and attempted to kick Racasix in the face, who was still getting up. Instead, however, as Thode’s foot came towards her face, Racasix caught it in her hands and began to twist.

Thode fought back the white-hot pain of a nearly dislocated ankle and leapt backwards to gain some distance. Racasix had already began to follow up on her attack, and attempted to rake Thode’s face with the sharp edges of her fingers. This time, Thode used this to his advantage. As Racasix arm lunged forward, Thode grabbed her outstretched hand to pull her over his shoulder and onto the hard ground.

Thode then dived on top of her to restrain her. Thode chuckled as his left hand began to glow a sickly white.

“As much as I like your pretty face, melting it is the only way to get you down.”

Thode leaned in close, right next to Racasix’s ear. “Any last requests?” he whispered.

“Yes, in fact,” Racasix replied. “That you get off me.”

With that said, Racasix summoned all her strength and head-butted Thode, distracting the Toa enough for Racasix to break one of her legs free and use it to kick Thode in the chest. The Toa went flying off her.

“Ow,” he said as he rose to his feet. Both assassins were panting but neither seemed interested in backing down. Finally, Racasix cracked that smile again.

“If you want me so badly,” she began in a seductive tone. “You’ll have to come and get me.”

With that said, Racasix turned around and began to sprint down the corridor, and being the predator that he was, Thode followed. He had memorized the layout for the emergency escape route of the Coliseum precisely. Upon reaching the turn up ahead, they would enter a new corridor that led to an elevator platform, which would take its user down to the base level of the Coliseum. It based off system used to make the Turaga’s private box rise and fall.

She’s not getting away from me, thought Thode, determined.

Up ahead, Racasix could see Thode was gradually beginning to catch her, so she outstretched her hand and began scratching the walls, shredding as many pipes, wires and cords as she could. Thode slowed down as sparks and steam began to violently spew everywhere, giving Racasix enough time to break away from him and zoom around the next corner.

Thode coughed and wheezed as he battled to get through the cloud of electricity, smoke and polluted air.

Not exactly how I planned to finish this job.

By the time Thode had emerged from the spark-filled fog and rounded the next corner, Racasix had disappeared. The Toa growled under his breath viciously, struggling to cope with the idea that he had just lost a target, a target that also happened to have his favourite sniper rifle.

She’s got my rifle. MY sniper rifle, he thought. If she makes it out of this accursed city, I bet she’ll turn it in to the Vortixx arms dealers who made it to collect the rewar--

“Up here, dear.”

Thode looked up to see none other than Racasix standing at the edge of a catwalk, and sitting on the rail was his sniper rifle. Racasix was grinning.

“Smile for the camera.”

Before Thode could even respond, his entire world exploded into a void of bright, white-hot pain. What made it worse was that the agony continued to rise to new levels as his nervous system went completely numb; he could very vaguely feel himself hitting the floor. Then, just when Thode things couldn’t get any worse, he could feel his right shoulder throbbing viciously. When his vision began to vaguely clear, he found himself lying on his back and staring at an injured shoulder, which he quickly deduced had been punctured by a shot

Fighting back waves of pain, Thode summoned all his remaining focus and concentrated on the injury in an effort to assess the damage. Though the incendiary touch of the shot had obviously had little effect on him (being a Toa of Plasma made him relatively immune to that), the sheer force of the blast had been enough to take him down. A part of Thode’s disorientated mind was actually somewhat please that the shot had been able to penetrate armour as thick as his. Another part was disappointed that he had also been taken down in one shot.

Thode then examined his arm; an arm that he could no longer feel.

The shot was unbelievably precise and had been very carefully calculated. Had he been hit even a centimeter closer to his right and his entire arm would’ve gone flying off. And Thode didn’t exactly want to go down in history with legacy as the, “One-Armed Killer.”

Suddenly, Thode could hear footsteps and turned to see Racasix approaching. Though Thode succeeded in converting his pain into boiling hatred for this snobby Vortixx wench, he knew there was little he could do to stop her. He was completely incapacitated.

When she was finally next to him, Racasix stared down at him with satisfaction gleaming in her eyes. But something else was there too. It was pity.

“I never expected that the great Toa Thode, killer of killers, stealer of life and the best sharpshooter this side of the universe, could be defeated so easily.”

Thode snarled, though it came out more as a croak than a sign of hatred. Racasix ignored it.

“But I don’t plan to kill you. Unlike you, I don’t deprive any pleasure for murder and it certainly doesn’t suit my needs here.”

Thode attempted to raise himself, but his body’s protests were too great.

“Once that meeting back there is over, once Turaga Matoro is done putting up with this charade that he’s meeting the real Vortixx ambassador, I’m going to give him all the evidence I’ve amassed of your employer’s treachery. Consider it a gift to the leaders of Metru Nui to strengthen relations. That Turaga’s going to be in prison for the rest of his life.”

Thode, who had been controlling and maintaining the pain as best he could, finally found himself able to spare enough energy to speak.

“What about me?”

Immediately, Racasix frowned. “I should kill you,” she said as she took a few steps away from him, obviously considering the option. “The world wouldn’t miss you, least of all me.”

There was a pause. Racasix’s shoulders sagged slightly, but when she turned she was practically bristling with confidence.

“But you did perform a service to the Xian people not too long ago, regardless of your intentions behind it. You saved the Vortixx from a diplomatic incident and then took up a job that could potentially risk everything we have at stake.”

Thode knew what she was going to do. Racasix leaned down next to him and smiled.

“But I will acknowledge your previous job, and also give you credit for helping me weed out that Turaga fellow for what he is. So, I will give you the opportunity to live and escape. I’ll simply say you were able to slip away before I could finish you off. Nobody will ask any questions. Besides, I like the idea that I was one target Toa Thode was never able to take down.”

Racasix then stood up again and began to depart. “But to make thing’s more of a challenge for you, I’m going to tell the Matoro exactly where you are. See if you can escape by his bodyguard can catch you.”

Racasix was now at the end of the corridor. She turned back and gave him a smile.

“Oh, and I’ll need to hang on to your sniper rifle. It’ll be a great piece of evidence to disprove the claims that the Ta-Matoran were the assassins. But this was all rather fun. We should tango again some time.”

And then she was gone.

---

Thode reclined deep into the leathery recesses of his armchair, wincing a bit as he realized the position he had placed himself in was uncomfortable for his shoulder.

Two weeks had passed since the incident at the Coliseum, and what a mess it had been. Suddenly, all the news and gossip had changed from a mysterious explosion at a warehouse to a conspiracy to bring down the Matoran/Xian relations.

Remarkably, though he had been identified as the assassin hired to do the dirty work, Thode’s involvement had been largely overshadowed by the fact that it was a Turaga who had hired him, and a respectable one at that. His various sympathizers and backers had very abruptly and quickly renounced their support of him. Because of their involvement, the Vortixx Secret Service were now being described as heroes, whilst on other hand, the Toa were being criticised for having practically no involvement in the intervention of the assassination.

Thode himself had been lucky to escape. After being given an unspecified period of time to escape by Racasix, Thode had crawled over to the nearby elevator platform and made his way down to the main floor of the Coliseum. There, he had limped to one of the nearby chute stations and fled as far away as possible from the scene of the crime; to Ga-Metru, to be precise.

Upon arriving there, Thode had dropped by a nearby clinic, where he had been patched up for free, thanks to his status as a Toa. He had to force himself not to laugh when the Ga-Matoran doctor had requested he give an endorsement for the clinic.

Oh, what a laugh that would’ve been, Thode thought to himself with a smile. An endorsement from a rogue Toa-turned-killer.

Though the Ga-Matoran had done an amazing job of healing his wound, she had said it would take a week or two before his arm was back to normal again. By this point, his shoulder was practically fully healed, though he still experienced mild discomfort here and there. And during this recover period, Thode had been spending that time at his not-so-secret lair. In other words, the tavern he had been stalking his other target for some time now. Who, unsurprisingly, was still wasting all his money away at this sickly place.

Suddenly, Thode noticed someone approaching his shadowy booth. This in itself was rare; apart from his hunched associate, practically no one dared to enter his turf, not even the establishment’s staff. And this fellow, a sniveling Ko-Matoran, was clearly a staff member. The Ko-Matoran approached, a big box in his hands.

“Umm… err… e-excuse me, sir.”

“What do you want?” Thode whispered sinisterly. He did love terrifying the meek.

“Well… err…. Somebody at the door left this for you.” The Matoran hefted the large crate he was carrying onto the table.

Thode’s eyes narrowed.

“I don’t remember ordering anything like this,” Thode said suspiciously. “Who gave this to you?”

“Well… err…”

“Who gave this to you?”

“Sir, I-I don’t think you understand…”

“Who gave this to you?”

“Well… err… the thing is…”

Suddenly, Thode lurched out of the shadows, grasping the Ko-Matoran’s arm and yanking him forward. The Matoran cried out in terror and began to whimper when he met Thode’s predatory eyes. Several other patrons on the nearby tables glanced at Thode nervously, eager to see what he would do.

“I don’t know,” the Matoran whispered, who was too afraid to even scream. “She just came in, gave me the box and told it was for somebody called Toa Jovan.”

The brow of Thode’s mask rose. “She?”

“Y-yeah. A Vortixx. Very pretty. D-definitely not from around here. She just came in, dropped this off and left.”

“Did she give you her name?” Thode growled, pulling the unfortunate Matoran in a littler closer. The waiter squirmed.

“N-no. She… she just said you’d know who she was when you opened the box.”

Thode’s eyes flickered to the box, which looked surprisingly big and weighty, then back to the Ko-Matoran. The ghost of a smile flickered on his lips.

“Thanks for the information.”

Thode then released his grip on the Matoran waiter and let him go, who then proceeded to sprint as fast as he possibly could. The other patrons just stared until Thode gave them a jarring look that made them all cower back to their business.

Thode then turned back to the box, which looked like it was just waiting to be opened. He didn’t like it. He wasn’t sure if it was a gift that would enrich his life or a bomb that would blow him sky high.

Only one way to find, Thode thought in an effort to convince himself, and then with great care, he peeled back their lid of the box. What was inside shocked him. For lying there beneath the cheap casing, was none other than Thode’s prized sniper rifle. His eyes widened in absolute surprise, which was unusual because they were usually so accustomed to seeing the most shocking things in the universe.

But if there was one thing they were not accustomed to, it was acts of charity, particularly the ones that were directed towards him. As he lifted the rifle out of the container and stroked its barrel affectionately, something else caught his eye. A small stone tablet that lay at the bottom of the box.

Thode lifted it and quickly analysed it. It was a note of some kind, presumably scribbled by the Vortixx who had left it for him.

I think I have a good hunch as to who that is.

After further inspecting the note for anything out of the ordinary (not that anything really unusual could be found on a small tablet), Thode began to read.

Dear ‘Jovan,’

I’m not sure whether to be delighted or disappointed that you escaped free of charge during that night at the Coliseum. To be fair, dear, I did have you at my mercy. And you probably would’ve succumbed to your injuries if I had just locked you up without medical treatment, but that’s not the point.

What I am trying to say is that while you may hold a grudge against me, you did unintentionally help me prove our Turaga’s friend’s involvement in that attempted conspiracy by failing your job. Without you, he probably wouldn’t have bothered hiring an assassin to do the job and would’ve just gone along with the event. So thank you for being available at the time he wished to have me executed. The assassination attempt accelerated our goal of getting him out of the picture by at least three months.

Again, Thanks for that.

Your sniper rifle was also a nice piece of evidence to wade suspicions off those lovable Ta-Matoran. The fact that it’s a weapon so famously unique to you made it much easier for us to prove that you were the hired gun after all. I contemplated keeping it, but I thought not. It’s a cute weapon, but it’s not really me. Since I don’t need it, and since I now need to do something fun that will really annoy my superiors, I’m going to give this rifle back to you completely free. Well, unless you consider getting shot in the shoulder the price, but let’s not get into the nitty-gritty details. I am a really good shot though, you must admit. Everyone does these days.

In any case, I hope you’re getting better. I hope that shoulder’s healing up and hope you’ll be back in action sooner rather than later. We really need to do this again some time; it really makes my day.

Love,

Racasix

Thode put down the tablet, his gaze going back to the wasted, blue-armoured Toa below.

Oh, don’t worry, he thought, a smile etching across his face. I’ll be back in action real soon.

Story Notes

Rumours

• Tollubo will make a cameo or at least be mentioned.
  • - Confirmed
• One of Chicken Bond's characters will make an appearance, most likely Mersery and Skorr.
  • - False, although Thode's unnamed informant was heavily based off his character Jekart.
• The Cult of Darkness will be involved in the plot.
  • - False
• The story will be set in Metru Nui.
  • - Confirmed
• Glonor, Glacii and the Elysium Law Enforcement will be involved in the story.
  • - False
• The Brotherhood of Makuta will be hunting Thode down, specifically Makuta Blazrox.
  • - False
• The Xian Secret Service and Racasix will play a major part in the early part of the story.
  • - Confirmed, though they actually play a major role throughout the entire story.
• Thode will be shot with his own sniper rifle.
  • - Confirmed
• Thode will be assigned to hunt down Toa Santis.
  • - False

Characters

• Toa Thode
• Racasix
• Turaga Matoro
• Tollubo - Not mentioned by name
• An unnamed Turaga of Stone
• An unnamed Kraata Purge diplomat
• An unnamed Vortixx weapons dealer
• Several Matoran bodyguards
• An unnamed informant
• Several unnamed Matoran
• Several unnamed Vortixx agents

Trivia

• Much like New Beginnings and The Night Vulture, Perspectives serves as Chicken Bond's major contribution to another writer's storyline, in this case the continuity of BobTheDoctor27.
• Perspectives serves as Chicken Bond's first attempt to dabble in political thrillers. However, the story does not fully classify as such a story, due to the author's unfamiliarity with the genre.
• Although the original banner was designed by Chicken Bond, an improved version was later created by user Jman98, which now acts as the current banner.