Chapter Nine

It took all Vezon’s diminished ability to concentrate to hurry through the razor-sharp thickets and briars of the Forest of Blades – thickets that even now sprang to life trying to attack him as his companion passed them by. The fast-moving Great Being seemed to anticipate every obstacle, trap, and hazard before they proved dangerous, something all the more curious given his longtime imprisonment.

After the restoration of the planet, Vezon and the others had spent many days in the tower. On and off they had argued whether to set their host free, even as they carried out regular scouting expeditions to get a lay of the alien world. Helryx had insisted on upholding the will of the Great Beings in imprisoning this individual, while Artakha had argued that returning to the known world should take priority. In the end, it was Miserix, out of a sense of empathy as one not so long ago chained by his own species, who had finally taken the initiative to free him.

Then the explosion struck. Artakha had barely noticed in time for everyone to evacuate. In the mad dash out, none puzzled hard over the fact that they had left the Great Being and Vezon behind in the tower. Nor could they have known that the pair would teleport away as the world erupted around them.

Now Vezon had lost track of the time that had passed since they had arrived in the forest, but apparently teleporting directly to their destination was off the table.

“Mister Great Being, would you please slow down?” Vezon gasped. “Any more rips in my cape and they won’t be a fashion statement anymore.”

The Great Being whirled and pointed at Vezon’s forehead. Instantly the world around him seemed to grind to a halt. The birds above seemed to be swimming through dense seas, and the crackle of the underbrush rumbled low. Now when the briars reached up to bite, he passed right through them. When the Great Being turned to hurry off again, Vezon kept up effortlessly.

“There you go again,” he remarked. “Freezing the world somehow. Jaller once did something similar to me, only I was the one frozen while everything around me was free.”

“The world isn’t frozen,” the Great Being called over his shoulder. Even he seemed to be proceeding much slower than he had before. “Yes, your atoms have been shifted to an alternate psionic state. But the rest is a simple trick of accelerating your life processes faster than you are used to. You thought we could build you, but not control the speed of your processing power?”

“Oh, my body can process a lot of power. I once wore the Mask of Life.”

“I’m aware. You stank of its curse the first time I saw you.”

“And how did you see me? I wasn’t exactly in the neighborhood.”

“Questions for another day. Hard as it may be for you, try to remain focused. Something lies hidden at the heart of this forest — something that has been hidden since before your universe was born. And it will change the tide in our favor.”

Vezon looked at the gently-flowing cloak of the Great Being and marveled.

“To think,” he said. “Future generations shall call me ‘Vezon, breaker of chains and liberator of ancient leaders too dangerous to be kept free.’” He hesitated. “Everyone except Tren Krom.”

“Focus,” his guide repeated more forcefully. “We have much work to do — and knowing the one who attacked us, not much time to do it.”

✴        ✴        ✴

“Where is he?” Artakha demanded. “He departed some time ago and has since sent us no sign.”

“Perhaps it was a mistake to let him leave,” Helryx remarked.

Hafu shifted his weight anxiously. When Lewa Nuva had flown away from the rest, he’d assured the Matoran that it was only going to be a brief flyover to get a feel for the area – nothing long. Minutes stretched into hours which stretched into days, and when everyone was driven out of the tower, they could only hope they could find Lewa again – or that he would find them.

The bushes rustled behind Axonn and Brutaka and a red Ruru popped out. Hafu’s eyes widened. “There he is! Back already.”

Artakha spun, flabbergasted. “But — Impossible — how could you evade even my perception…?”

“It defies all reasoning,” Axonn murmured. Even Brutaka tilted his head quizzically.

Helryx frowned. “Have you found him?”

“I have found Lewa Nuva,” Kapura replied thoughtfully. “The Toa does not linger far from here. He is not bound, but he cannot leave.”

“What about Tuyet or Miserix?”

“The dragon has flown south, but I could not find Toa Tuyet,” the Ta-Matoran shrugged. “She has vanished.”

“Just us, then,” Axonn frowned. No small amount of power was arrayed between them, but with a rapidly-shrinking party on such an unknown world, it was difficult not to be concerned. For all their might, none of them could fly.

“Lead on, then, little one,” Artakha said. “Guide us to Toa Lewa. We will retrieve the lost Toa and then find a way out of this land.”

With that, the small Ta-Matoran started off, and Artakha, Helryx, Brutaka, Axonn, and Hafu fell into line behind him, not knowing where the road would lead or what they could possibly find.

✴        ✴        ✴

The mighty Vorox warrior, Kabrua, paced, his features lined with impatience and frustration. Bad enough to play errand-runner, but worse, it had been required in the middle of a hunt. The sooner this was over, the sooner he could get back to the chase.

He paused. Was that it? Yes, there it was. He could sense it coming on.

There was a sensation of dizziness, then his implants activated, and the speed of his mind seemed to shoot forward at an unimaginable rate. Time itself seemed to slow around him. It was as if he were in a world of statues.

Speak to me, Kabrua, came the voice of his ally.

“My scout was correct,” Kabrua replied. “I am at the tower ruins. But there are no bodies here.”

The voice was silent. The Vorox could imagine what his ally was thinking in that instant.

Mobilize the rest of your units, the voice came again. Have your soldiers take everything from the storehouses I’ve told you about, then march on the coordinates I will send you.

“We are hunting!” Kabrua hissed. “No less, we are hunting the very four that you warned us about. You would have us interrupt the chase for this?”

The subjects of your next hunt are far more dangerous game. Some who, if loose, will stand to see your society toppled. Their escape is more alarming, but their deaths will be more rewarding.

The Vorox scowled.

“Very well.”

✴        ✴        ✴

“Let’s hope you’re right, Tahu.”

“I hope I’m wrong.”

Tahu, Gali, and Onua sat crouched some distance away from the scaffolded figure of a giant domed temple, camouflaged and hidden behind a large pile of construction materials. Following the reformation of the planet, several Av-Matoran had suggested excavating and repurposing the Codrex – once the core of the Great Spirit’s heart – as a Temple of Life to house the dormant form of Mata Nui. This effort had begun in short order, with the Codrex occupying a favored stretch of land in the campsite. Scaffolding was still in place to stabilize the structure in its new home, although there had been little opportunity yet to finish the project.

The Toa had not been waiting for long. Only hours ago, Onua had deliberately planted a rumor that Mata Nui would personally return to deal with the murderer of Karzahni and Tren Krom. This was not true, of course – Mata Nui now lay beyond the realm of communication. But none except a trusted few knew this.

“So, enlighten me,” Onua said. “Why is this approach called a ‘Kirop?’”

Tahu snorted. “You’d have to ask Pohatu and Lewa. They’re the ones that kept insisting I call it that.”

“A plan by those two always inspires confidence,” Onua chuckled.

“They say it was Kopaka’s, actually.”

“There!”

At Gali’s whisper, the eyes of the Toa of Fire and Earth narrowed. True enough, a small figure was making his way sneakily in the direction of the Codrex. But though his arrival had been anticipated, his appearance was not.

“He’s a villager!” Onua whispered. “Of… earth? No… it’s a stone villager!”

“A stone villager… You said the one who attacked the prison was a fire Glatorian,” Gali murmured.

“He was,” Tahu frowned. “Which means either we have two murderers loose—”

“Or this just got a lot bigger than we thought,” Onua finished.

✴        ✴        ✴

As the rock tribesman in question made his way to the foot of the Codrex where its supposed secret entrance was said to be hidden, he could hear his true commander’s pleased tone commending him for making such a bold and decisive action. After all, if Mata Nui made his return now, there’s no telling how far back it would set the plan. For Atakus, it was personal, and no time could be wasted putting out the threat Mata Nui posed.

It wasn’t until he was tracing his hands against the temple wall that he was filled with a terrible sense of alarm.

There was no evidence of an entrance. The exact spot where it was supposed to be was completely blank.

Jets of flame erupted in a circle around him, and the earth became soft, sucking him in before hardening again.

“Rock Agori!” Tahu’s voice came from behind him. “Surrender and lay down your arms before—”

A loud explosion drowned out the rest of his words. Atakus was straining to escape the quicksand when a vehicle rumbled past, hurtling over the flames to Atakus’ side. A red-armored hand seized the Agori and the engine roared to life, tearing him out of the trap and sending them speeding off.

“You!” Atakus gasped.

Perditus scowled as he steered his Thornatus V9, a modified dune chariot, through the city outskirts. “What were you thinking, falling for such an obvious trap?”

“What were you thinking, exposing your identity?” Atakus shot back, looking behind them. “I could have talked my way out of it. Now they know we’re working together.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Perditus frowned. “They don’t know us by name, nor can they keep up with my Thornatus. And even if our people believe them, secrecy doesn’t matter for us anymore like it does for Him. A Glatorian and an Agori unhappy with the planet’s new guests? Join the club.”

“So where are we going now?”

“The Grand Forger has informed me about another of his spies, one located deep in Bota Magna. When we’re there, the next stage will commence.”

Atakus smiled, sat back, and closed his eyes, pleased. As Perditus turned his gaze upon the open stretches that lay before him, neither rogue saw the Codrex barrier deactivate.

And as the Thornatus raced to the distant lands of Bota Magna, they could not have known that three aircraft were hot on its tail.