Chapter 10: Voice of Reason

Tahu and Johmak stood at the edge of a pool of energized protodermis, with only the Hau Nuva’s shield between them and a horde of Roporak. They had been here for some time; long enough, apparently, for Makuta to become bored and turn his attention elsewhere. Even the Rahkshi had left, no doubt sent to do some great evil by Makuta. Still, there was no chance of escape; the moment Tahu dropped the shield, they would be forced into the pool, there to be destroyed or mutated into something unimaginable.

“Toa Tahu, it’s been an honor serving with you,” said Johmak.

“Same to you, Johmak,” said Tahu. “I only wish I could have led you better.”

“You did the best you could,” said Johmak. “The best anyone could.”

The Roporak closed in, spinners at the ready. Several clicked their mandibles eagerly. And several near the doorway reared up, then dropped to the ground with knives in their backs. Briefly, Tahu saw a lithe figure dash into the room, before another several Visorak died swiftly.

“Lariska?” he cried.

“Who else?” she replied, and leapt back to retrieve her knives from those she had slain. “I knew you’d make a mess of this infiltration without me. Frankly, I’m a little offended you didn’t invite me in the first place.”

All around, the Roporak turned their spinners away from Tahu and Johmak and towards Lariska. “A little help here, Toa?”

Tahu unleashed a blast of heat and flame, knocking the Roporak back. Johmak rushed through the gap, bashing one Visorak to the ground with her shield, then smashing into two more that charged her. At the front of the room, Lariska stabbed and sliced every Visorak that came near, keeping the pathway clear. Rhotuka zipped through the room from every direction.

Tahu called on his elemental power, and a mote of fire floated into the center of the protodermis pool. “In a few minutes, that fireball will go off, and the whole place will explode,” he called. “We need to get out of here before that happens!”

Wasting no time, Lariska turned and ran. Johmak crushed one Visorak and moved to strike another, until Tahu pulled her away and dashed from the room. Roporak poured out of the room as well, but in panic rather than pursuit. Only the Exo-Toa remained in the room, obediently watching over the pool.

Tahu, Johmak, and Lariska leapt from the tunnels just as the explosion hit. A pillar of flame burst from the tunnel entrance behind them, flaring into the sky above. A moment later, the shockwave hit, rippling through the battleground and tossing Rahkshi and Exo-Toa like leaves in the wind. Only the Hau Nuva protected Tahu and his teammates from going the same way.

When the ground stopped shaking, Tahu dropped the shield, and the three warriors surveyed the devastation they had wrought. The ground was bent and buckled, and strewn with the bodies of Makuta’s forces. Tahu spotted some creatures moving near the mountains, but they suddenly vanished… then reappeared next to him, led by Onua and his Kakama Nuva. “Good work, brother!” he cried, embracing Tahu and lifting him off the ground. Krahka and Kopeke stood beside him, both bearing only a few scrapes and dents from the battle.

“I can’t believe we survived that,” said Johmak.

“You’re welcome,” replied Lariska.

“…”

Tahu looked around, fully expecting Makuta to attack with the ground or sky itself. After all, they had just destroyed his only source of energized protodermis; surely that would invite his wrath. Yet the island did not move. Daxia was quiet, even peaceful, in the battle’s aftermath.

“Time to leave,” said Tahu. “Evidently, Makuta’s attention is elsewhere, but he’ll look back eventually. And when he does, I want to be far, far away from here.”

No one disagreed. Calling on the Kakama Nuva, the group vanished from the rubble of the fortress, leaving only the broken bodies of Makuta’s servants behind.

✴        ✴        ✴

Makuta scanned his body tirelessly, but could not find where the Shadowed One had gone. This body’s powers operated on a scale far beyond individual beings, but that power had its weaknesses: he could no better distinguish the Shadowed One than a drop of water in the Silver Sea. If the Shadowed One was to be found, he would have to do this the old-fashioned way.

Makuta turned his thoughts to Daxia. A quick look told him all there was to know: Tahu and Onua had succeeded, and the island’s energized protodermis was long gone. This was not as much of a setback as the Toa seemed to think. I still have the isle of energized protodermis to the south, he recalled, that same isle from which Helryx came to the core. And that, he said to himself, may solve my other problem…

“Helryx,” he muttered, “how best might one hunt a Dark Hunter?”

The Toa of Water glanced at the machines around her. “Don’t tell me,” she said dryly, “you were outwitted by a being who declares war on every faction that dares cross his gaze?”

“For the first and only time, his insistence on defying the basic realities of power has worked to his advantage,” said Makuta. “Now the Shadowed One has done what he does best: run and hide. But I know your Order had its claws in his little band of bandits - so tell me where he has fled, and we can destroy our longtime mutual annoyance together.”

“I wish it were so easy,” said Helryx, “but he killed Ancient, and you destroyed Odina. I know no more of his movements than I do those of a common criminal. I’m not a tracker Rahi, Teridax.”

“Rahi - what an appropriate selection, Helryx,” said Makuta. “The Rahi Nui would be my classic option, but it has lost all its battles of late, and owes its training to the Dark Hunters. But you remind me… your Order has its own secret breed, does it not? I became quite attached to one during my visit to the Pit.”

Behind her mask, Helryx smiled. Makuta had taken the bait.

“No retort? Ah, I see. Spinax is too loyal, and would bring Hydraxon on his tail. And that can’t be risked: the warden who once tried to destroy the Mask of Life would never hesitate to use any weapon granted to him, least of all Makuta viruses.” Makuta’s laughter echoed through the room from every direction. “How clever, Helryx - for a Toa! You almost had me fooled.”

“I have to keep my mind sharp somehow,” Helryx sighed. “How will you find him, then? Rahkshi are too destructive, and Exo-Toa too mindless. Perhaps you could hire an ex-Dark Hunter with a grudge - half the organization has vowed to kill their master, after all.” And half again have vowed to kill you.

“Ah - once again, Helryx, your deceit has led me to the solution,” said Makuta. “I need not find the Shadowed One to stop him from using his viruses against me. Only Pridak can give him that knowledge… and that can be easily prevented.”

Around the island of Karzahni, the sea rose, forming an enormous wall of water through which no boat could travel. “After millennia in the Pit, the Barraki still cannot imagine anything greater than picking up where they left off - trying to dethrone the Great Spirit with sticks and stones. What were you thinking, Helryx, releasing them on an unsuspecting universe?”

“I had expected,” Helryx said sharply, “that Mata Nui would wake in his own body. It seemed like a reasonable assumption at the time.”

“And yet, I am left in the position of cleaning up your mess. But it should be no challenge. Their only escape is towards Metru Nui, and that is no escape at all. The Barraki will be slaughtered as my Brotherhood was by your Order - a service for which I must thank you, truly.”

“My Order had Metru Nui under martial law, with the full cooperation of its leaders,” Helryx snapped. “You have a Matoran stone-carver in a robe.”

“A fair point. Let us see what that Matoran stone-carver has wrought.”

In the darkness of his Coliseum office, Ahkmou was perusing reports when his Exo-Toa bodyguard suddenly spoke. “Report. How fares the city of legends, Ahkmou?”

Ahkmou hurriedly picked up the tablets he’d dropped. “Very well, dark one! Everything is under control.”

Exo-Toa couldn’t frown, but Ahkmou swore that this one did. “I gave you my favorite Vorahk as guards. Why do I sense none in the Coliseum?”

“A temporary shortage, sir - I dispatched them on patrols - urrk!”

Makuta slammed the Exo-Toa’s claw around Ahkmou’s torso, lifting him into the air. “I cannot sense them anywhere! How, ‘Turaga’ Ahkmou, did you lose my spawn?”

Ahkmou pushed against the claw, hoping it would not begin to squeeze. “The Av-Matoran!” he squawked. “They have light powers, Makuta, and tools with which to use them! They’re like a small army of Takanuva!”

“An army of Takanuva, you say…” Dimly, he recalled something Tridax had raved about, a plan that had been shot down at every Brotherhood meeting. But if I turned my gaze to Destral, what might I find in its deepest sublevels?

“Yes, that’s the phrasing I used,” said Ahkmou. “Should I not have?”

“It matters not,” said Makuta. Slowly, the Exo-Toa lowered Ahkmou to the floor. “You are right, Ahkmou. The Av-Matoran pose a unique threat to my spawn, but I gave you no support to oppose them.” He strode to the window, surveying the city hard at work. “I will send you reinforcements momentarily. When I do, you will use those reinforcements to snuff out the Av-Matoran’s resistance. Do I make myself clear?”

“Crystal,” said Ahkmou. “You won’t be disappointed, Makuta. I work quickly.”

The Exo-Toa nodded. “Work faster.”

With that, Makuta’s thoughts drifted below. “You truly are indispensable in this role, Helryx. Your wisdom has saved me many miscalculations. Are you sure the Great Beings did not mean to create you as a Turaga?”

“Are you sure they didn’t mean you to be a stone rat with delusions of grandeur?” said Helryx.

“I’m quite confident. It’s almost like having a sharp, critical voice in my head… actually, on a very real level, I suppose that’s what you are now. Not unlike absorbing someone with my shadow hand. I wonder when we will cease to be able to tell the difference?”

Helryx rolled her eyes. “If that day comes, Teridax, we’ll both wish for death. I promise you that.”

Ah, poor, proud little Helryx, Makuta mused. No doubt she would eventually call on her elemental power to prepare a nova blast. He would let her try… but how to prevent her from using it, without losing his favorite puppet?

He smiled, a dark wisp on the wind. Perhaps, once the energy was too strong to withhold, he would teleport her to the largest gathering of rebels he could find, and wipe them out with her own power. That will teach her, Makuta murmured, not to hope.

Quietly, Makuta and Helryx returned to those thoughts which they could call their own… for now.