Crystallus' Adventures

This article was written by Abc8920. Please do not add to it without the writer's permission.

Crystallus' Adventures is a story that shows the skirmishes and adventures of Crystallus and a group of brave Matoran as evil surfaces on Hua-Nui.

Chapter 1

79.100 years ago…

The Ko-Matoran Crystallus looked through the window. He was in an ice tower on his homeland, Hua-Nui. The next day he had to visit the island’s Makuta. He reported the prophecies that the stars told every year. This year prophecy was a regular one. The only thing that changed was that the stars had told him of the arrival of a Toa. He wondered who this Toa should be. He went out from the ice tower. He walked through the streets of Ko-Hua, the light reflecting on its many ice towers. A matoran came in front of him.

-Hey Crystallus! How are the prophecies going?-Said Zercks.

-The same way as every year.-Said Crystallus lying.

-Follow me, the onu-matoran from Onu-hua have found something interesting.

Crystallus didn’t said nothing. He worked as an explorer, and once a year he read the stars. So curiosity grew in him. He followed Zercks. Zercks lead him to his storage room. There things from Onu-hua arrived every week. Zercks then brang them to the Ko-hua archives. In the past, Zercks had been an experienced fe-Matoran explorer. But one day, while exploring an underground mine, there was a cave-in. After the accident, he lost his right arm as well as all of his memories. The onu-matoran found him, restored him back to health and made Onu-hua his home. He himself built a robotic arm. He picked up a box. He opened it, and revealed its content.

-Here it is!-Said Zercks.

It was a lightstone like object that was encased in ice. Crystallus raised his arm to touch it.

-Better not to touch this!-Said Zercks, putting the object back to the box.-It radiates energy. Maybe it’s lethal. I will estudy it someday. Now I have to go back to Oun-hua.

-Bye!-Said Crystallus.

Something inside of him told him that the stone was a bad thing. Then he looked behind where the box previously was. There was nothing.He thought that Zercks had taken it. Maybe the stone had corrupted him, turning him into a greedy matoran? Crystallus didn’t know.

He left out to his ice tower to prepare his presentation of the yearly prophecy to the island’s Makuta, Spirack.

Chapter 2

79.100 years ago…

The day had arrived. Hua-nui’s entire council alongside with Spirack was waiting for him to begin the prophecy.

"Pace and security will come, no war will get sprung. A light will be shadowed; a toa will came to being."

Spirack seemed surprised by that.

"Interesting. Are you sure of the toa part of the prophecy?"

"Yes. I’ve been reading that part again for months in the stars, my master."

There was a big silence. Then, Spirack broke it.

"Leave Crystallus, I and the council have to discuss the profecy.-Said Spirack"

Then Crystallus left the room. He went of to the street, and began to walk away, to Ta-hua.

Hours later, he arrived to The White Kaukau, a club. Here all of his friends met every Saturday. That day he had arrived too much late. The owner was closing. He went home.

A ta-matoran was to open the door of his house when he realized that he had missed his keys in the The White Kaukau. He went to it. It was dark night when he found them. When he was way back to home, he saw something glowing. He followed the light source, and came to an old abandoned building. When he entered it, he saw a matoran that he knew, Zercks holding a strange, glowing stone, like if it was his most loved treasure. The Fe-matoran broke the ice cage that surrounded the stone, and grabbed it. Then, there was an intense glow, and Zercks became a toa. The toa tested its powers on the door the ta-matoran was, making the ta-matoran to fall on the ground. Zercks tested his powers again, this time throwing protodermis knives at the now broken door. He realized his mistake to late, and the knives killed the matoran.

Chapter 3

79.100 years ago…

Zercks examined the ta-matoran corpse. In his first minutes as a toa he had killed a matoran!What should he do? Bring the matoran to the autorities? ? No, that would put him in prison. He had never filled as dirt as that day. He found a good place in a clearing. He began to dig. When he was finished, he prepared to put the ta-matoran in. Suddenly, a ta-matoran came out of the bushes.

-What are you doing her tall being? Oh a matoran corpse with a knive!-Said the ta-matoran.

-I found it near here.-Said Zercks.

-If this is true why were you trying to hide it? Come with me. I’m Vakihi, captain of patrol D of the ta-matoran guard. You will pass the rest of your life between girds.-Said Vakihi.

Then things happened very quickly. Vakihi shooted a web at Zercks. Zercks dodged it, and leaped forwards. Vakihi grabbed him by the neck, only to the toa of iron to do the same in a stronger way. Vakihi fell on the ground dead.

First, Zercks wanted to run away, but his now criminal mind said to do a better thing. He searched for a Spine bear. The spine bears were rare beasts that had sheer brutality. He searched and searched.

-I will never find it, and there are only three hours for dawn!-Said Zercks.

-If I had a localizer…-Said Zercks.

Then, he remembered of his mask. It was the mask of technology. He created a sphere of iron. He then used the mask power to transform it into a localizer.

After five minutes, he found one. The spine bear roared, and charged on Zercks. Zercks created a wall of iron, and then he cut the bear’s head. He then went back to for the matoran corpses. He pulled out the knives of the ta-matoran, and made sure to do more tooth like holes, to apparent that the beast had killed the two.

At morning, he went to Hua-Nui’s council. Everybody was surprised both for the three dead corpses and for the toa.

-What happened? - Asked Spirack.

-I went to the forest and…-Began to say Zercks, but was cut by Spirack.

-Began from the biggining! How did you become a toa?-Said Spirack.

-I found a stone in one of onu-Hua’s mines, and when I touched it I became a toa. I went to the forest and I found this two matoran fighting with the beast. I tried to stop it, but it was too late. The beast had killed the matoran, and I killed the beast.-Said Zercks.

Spirack didn’t said nothing. Zercks thought that he was valuing the situation. Although, all of the council knew that he was reading Zercks’ mind. He saw in the toa mind its two murders and the strong greedy inside too. Spirack decided to not tell the council and let the toa go.

-Free the toa. - Said Spirack.

Zercks left the room, and Spirack ordered the other council members to leave. He went to his room, high in the tower.

-So a toa of iron and an assassin. The only problem is his element. A toa of iron is one of the few things that we makuta call a threat. -Though Spirack.

-He can be “cured”.-Said Spirack.

After saying that, he opened a metal box and pulled out an Avsa.

Chapter 4

79.100 years ago…

Crystallus went out of his tower. In the street there were lots of matoran talking nervously.

-What happened?-Asked Crystallus.

-Vakihi and Kurahn. They are dead. They were killed by a Spine bear.-Said a ko-matoran.

What a tragedy.-Crystallus thought. Crystallus was an explorer. His job had taught him many things of Hua-Nui’s nature. One of these things was that Spine bears don’t attack without a good reason. He decided to investigate this strange incident. After all, it was winter, a time when he didn’t worked.

He went to see makuta Spirack at Hua-kini. There, makuta Spirack was talking to the council.

-Can I see the dead corpses, my lord?-Said Crystallus.

-I’m busy right now, but you can see them if you want. I don’t know your propose, but better for you to don’t bring me problems.-Said Spriack.

-Of course my master. They were my friends.-Said Crystallus.

One of the council’s member accompanied Crystallus to a room. The council member was an old turaga, and seemed Crystallus to be full of experience.

-Here they are.-Said the turaga.

He left the room, and went to his chamber. Crystallus looked curious at the matoran. One had tooth like holes in the chest, and the other had them too.Then he discovered something that let him stunned. Vakahi’s neck was broken, and in one of Khuran’s armor holes there was a minuscule metal shard. He grabbed it an examined the shard. It was made of prosteel. In Hua-Nui’s mines prosteel exhausted long ago, and if the holes were supposed to be made by a rahi, prosteel was impossible to be there. There also was Vakihi’s broken neck. He knew that Spine bears don’t break your neck, they simply tear you apart. The turaga entered in the chamber.

-Are you finished yet?-Said the turaga.

-Yes.-Said Crystallus.

-Where were the corpses found?-Asked Crystallus.

-It’s confidential. I can’t tell you.-Said the turaga.

-You can. I will not tell anyone about it.-Said Crystallus.

-Sometimes things happen to be even worse and impossible than we thing, young matoran.-Said the turaga.

-We didn’t found it. Zercks, toa of iron, found them in ta-Hua’s forest and brought it here. - Said the turaga.

-Is Zercks a toa of iron?

-Yes, he became a toa of iron yesterday.If you find something interesting send it to me via message. Mailbox 8920. My name is Makava.-Said the Turaga.

-Bye.-Said Crystallus.

He left the room and went to ta-hua.

Hours later…

Crystallus searched for some things of battle in the forest. There was much forest to search. Suddenly, he felt something cold in his feet. A huge metal wall was in the ground. He saw in the surrounding trees sings of battle. He also saw some footprints in the soil. They headed to the west. He followed them until he arrived at a clearing. There was a hole and some blood on the ground.

-This hasn’t been an accident.-He though.

Then he remembered all the clues he had found. Prosteel was exhausted on the island. Then he found a shard of prosteel on a matoran supposedly killed by a Spine bear. Prosteel can only be done two ways, or it’s natural or is created artificially by a being of power. And that also explained why Vakahi had his neck broken.

-That is getting closer. And there are only three beings that are able to do that.-Said Crystallus.

Chapter 5

79.100 years ago…

Crystallus wrote the message to Makava. In it said all the clues he had found, his findings in the forest and his final conclusions. He then sent it to Makava. He had to start to investigate one of the possible criminals. He decided to start with Zercks, as the others were more difficult than the toa of iron. He went to the Onu-Hua’s mines, where Zercks was helping the miners. Uh, I see that you’ve gown since the last time I saw you.

-Hi Zercks! Uh, I see that you’ve gown since the last time I saw you.-Said Crystallus.

-Yes. What do you want? I’m really busy right there.-Said Zercks.

-Only a few questions. To began… How did you become a toa?- Said Crystallus.

-You know of the stone, Crystallus. It fell off of my hands when I was going to put it in a box. The ice cage broke, and when I touched it, I transformed into a toa.-Said Zercks lying.

-What did you do after that?-Asked Crystallus.

-I went to the forest to test my powers. I went to a clearing and I found a Spine bear killing the ta-matoran. I killed the bear, and then I gave the corpses to Spirack. -Said Zercks, lying again.

-Well, it has logic.-Said Crystallus.

-Bye! - Said Crystallus.

Then he left the mine and went outside. Zercks version was ok for him. For Crystallus Zercks was innocent. Was he? He wasn’t sure. He still had two possible killers, makuta Spirack or turaga Storahk. He went home, back to his ice tower. There he went bed and fell asleep.

Meanwhile…

Zercks was at the party the matoran organized to him to celebrate the arrival of at toa in the island. Matoran were happily talking and dancing at The White Kaukau. Zercks stealthily left the club and went to walk to the dark streets of Ko-Hua. Dark urges crossed his mind. His power, it was growing inside of him. He had to release it on something or someone. A ko-matoran was passing in front of him.

-Hey Zercks! What are you doing here?-Asked the Ko-matoran.

I… I… I…-Then Zercks exploded and swung a prosteel blade at the ko-matoran, his head going meters away.

Zercks ran, now aware of his actions.

Chapter 6

79.100 years ago…

Crystallus awoke early. He went to have a walk at Ko-hua. He was sleepy, tired of so much investigating. He was walking when he stomp on a metallic thing. When he looked down to see what the metallic object was he saw that actually it was a matoran head, one of his friend’s head. Crystallus let a loud scream. Then the Ko-matoran guard came.

-What’s the mater Ko-matoran?-Said the leader of the squad.

-I found my friend’s head right there!-Said Crystallus.

-Another murder. Come with us to our head quarters, we have much to discuss.-Said the ko-matoran.

Hours later…

Sadness and exhaustion were the only feelings that Crystallus could feel now. One of his best friends had been killed, and by extent, he had passed three hours-length interrogation.

The author of these crimes will pay for it. Not only has killed matoran of my fellow island, but also has killed one of my best friends.-Though Crystallus.

Crystallus went home. There, he wrote in a book all his discoveries and suspects.

---

Makava checked his mailbox. The turaga of air wasn’t sure if Crystallus should go further into that investigation. If the killer had killed three matoran, Makava was sure that the killer wouldn’t doubt to kill Crystallus if the killer found out that Crystallus was investigating the crime. He read the message that Crystallus sent him. He read Crystallus’ findings. It could be turaga Satorahk, as he had the biggest prosteel factory in Hua-Nui and had access to vehicles, which with them even a matoran would be able to do a brutal murder. But Makava knew Satorahk’s personality. A corrupt turaga, he wouldn’t care to search and kill a Spine bear so that could seem an accident. Makava knew that Satorahk would simply encase the corpses into a prosteel block and then use it for construction purposes. There was another suspect, Spirack. Spirack was experienced Makuta, and had an entire armory made of prosteel. But, why would a Makuta take the risk to let it on the forest? It was easier to use his powers to incinerate and disintegrate the corpse in unending number of ways with makuta powers. The last suspect was Zercks, who found the corpses. Zercks, a toa of iron, capable of making as many prosteel as he wanted. Yes, it was a workable theory. The night of the murder Zercks went to the forest and killed Kurahn. Vakihi saw him, and Zercks was forced to kill the guard too. First he thinks of burying the corpses, but decides to make it to look an accident. Zercks seeks and kills a Spine bear. He brings the bear at Hua-Kini. The next night, he randomly kills another matoran. Only Zercks could have killed the matoran. And if he was right, he should warn Crystallus.

Chapter 7

79.100 years ago…

The room in the main factory in Hua nui and that Crystallus was visiting was a full of high tech machines that crafted vehicles and other metal stuff. Some machines melted broken and old protodermis and put them in vats. That was strange, as in the official declarations it didn’t said nothing of melting old metal. Normally, the protodermis factories didn’t have machines to melt metal; they usually had cutting and folding machines, as it was easier and cheaper to bend the metal than to melt it. But Crystallus didn’t pay much attention to it now. He was there to interrogate turaga Sathorak. That wasn’t as easy as Crystallus had though, as nobody except fe-matoran workers and ko-matoran engineers were allowed to enter. He had to enter there saying that he wanted to work in the factory as and engineer. The guards had allowed him to pass. Now he was stealthy searching for Sathorak’s office, hoping to not be seen. The factory complex was enormous and out of the villages, it was located in a valley in the jungle of Le-hua. He had heard very bad rumors of Sathorak’s way of doing bussines, and that the factory was doing illegal activities. Crystallus opened a door and soon found himself in a corridor with many doors. One of the doors said “staff only”. At the end of the corridor, he saw another door with the title “Sathorak”. He entered in, and saw the iron turaga with a cigar in its mouth. Sathorak was sitting in an armchair, talking to an engineer. The engineer was enraged, but Sathorak seemed to do not care of the engineer’s warnings.

-We have to launch version 4.4 now! You now that the currently version is too much… dangerous.-Said the ko-matoran engineer.

-The current version is the exact one. I’m not going to spend more money into making them slower and peaceful. Now leave the room, I have more important things to do. - Sathorak looked at Crystallus- And you, what do you want?-Said Sathorak.

-I’m here because I want to apply to the engineer job and…-Said Crystallus.

-Ah, you are the one that has come to interrogate me about the recent matoran deaths. -Then he puffed some cigar smoke onto Crystallus face. – I’m a turaga, do you believe that I would be able to brutally kill two matoran? If I wanted to do that I would leave that to someone else. And as you know, I only have matoran workers, and the day of the incident they were all working here.-Said Sathorak.

-But you have many machines, and you could use a small walker to do that.-Said Crystallus.

- A walker? Yes, we produce some models, but that’s not my style of killing. If I wanted to kill someone I won’t do it by myself and I would do it in a funny way. Why to kill two matoran and a spine bear to simulate and accident, when I could kill them, put them in a block of protodermis and then use the block to construct a building for myself.-Said Sathorak.

-And what about the melting machines and the labs that you have here and that are unofficial and illegal?-Said Crystallus.

-Without comments. I will only say one thing to you: When deeper you go on cloudy water, more dirty it gets. Now get out of here, I have important business to attend.-Said Sathorak.

Crystallus left the room. Then, a guard accompanied him to the exit. In Sathorak’s room another matoran guard entered.

-What do we do with the ko-matoran? Do we punch him to death, like the last time we did?-Said the guard.

-No, I want something more interesting. Activate the fences, and unleash the raptors. Make sure that no one exits the factory until we have the raptors back.-Said Sathorak.

Chapter 8

79.100 years ago…

Crystallus was going to the exit of the factory, accompanied by a fe-matoran guard. Once they arrived there the fe-matoran pushed Crystallus out of the doors, and then closed and secured them. Crystallus knew that Sathorak hadn’t lied. Sathorak was a corrupt turaga, but after all, it was true, if the turaga had used the walker there would be tread footprints everywhere in the forest that the corpses were found. Now he had to go back home. In front of him there was small path that lead to a fenced gate in the mountains. Although the factory was in an isolated valley in the middle of the jungle, the main building was surrounded by electrified fences.

At the end of the path, there was a shed and a door that lead through the fence. Before opening the fence, Crystallus looked back. There was the factory, the mountains, broken machinery and a small river. Nothing different from the last time he had looked. Or there was something? In the distance he saw three beings of 1,80 meters of stature. He couldn’t see very well, as night had fallen, but he recognized reptilian eyes and sharp teeth.

Crystallus hurried to open the exit door. It was closed. The beings began to run to where Crystallus was. He had to do something quick. He tried to climb the door, but above it there was the electrified fence. Seeing no other option, he entered the shed and locked himself in. The beings continued running to the shed. When they were in front of it, they stopped and began to smell the windows. Crystallus looked through the window for some seconds, and his eyes met the beast’s eyes. It was a raptor like being, and he was sure that it was now aware that he was inside. Crystallus knew that they would break through the window easily. There was a motorbike and a rifle. He jumped onto the motorbike and saw a key. It seemed him to be the key of the door of the fence. The three raptors hit the window, smashing it to shards.

Crystallus unlocked the door of the shed and went outside. Behind him there were the three raptors. They were very close. While one of them continued straight to the motorbike, the other two went to the sides, intending to trap Crystallus. Crystallus shoot at the one that came from the right, which fell on the ground. The other one that was coming from the left was close the motorbike, too much close. Crystallus shooted two times, and failed. The raptor was to jump onto the motorbike when he shooted the raptor in the eye. The effect was immediate, the raptor fell to the ground and scum began to erupt from its mouth. He realized that the rifle fired powerful venom darts. Distracted seeing the dead raptor, he didn’t notice that the one that came from behind was very close and it bit the back part of the bike.

Crystallus was to shoot at the raptor when the key of the door that he held in one hand fell off of his hand and went straight to the raptor’s face. It fell back to the ground. When Crystallus looked back, the raptor had the key in the mouth, hold by a rope. The raptor began to run to the river, Crystallus behind in fast pursuit. He fired at the raptor, but failed. He now had very few darts, and needed the key. The raptor crossed the river and made a curve, making Crystallus to yaw on the mud. The raptor was going to some old machines.

Crystallus wasn’t sure if the bike could pass between those machines. The raptor passed between the machines, and hit a machine with its body, destabilizing it. The machine parts began to fall, and Crystallus accelerated, some parts barely missing him. Now he was parallel to the raptor. It charged onto the bike, and Crystallus almost fell. Crystallus shoot at the raptor, and that time the raptor fell on the ground, dead.

He jumped out of the motorbike and grabbed the key. He mounted on the bike again, and drove to the door. He went outside and took a road to Ko-hua. What were these raptors? Who created them? Where there more? Questions burned through Crystallus mind, and the answers were soon to be met by him, sooner than Crystallus imagined.

Chapter 9

79.100 years ago…

Makuta Spirack was in Hua-Kini. He had to talk with the council about an important thing.

-My fellow turaga, I have to communicate you something. As you know, there is a band of criminals that is currently rampaging on Ta-hua. I want one of you to go to search Zercks and make him to stop the band. Who volunteers?-Said Spirack.

-Me.-Said Makava.

-Ok. Session closed. -Said Spirack.

All the turaga exited the room, and Spirack was left alone. He then used his teleportation powers to appear in Visorak, an island far in the south of the universe conquered by the brotherhood of makuta. There, he was doing bussines with another makuta, Chirox. In the past Visorak had been a matoran colony with another name, until Chirox tested his new created beasts, the Visorak. He tested them here and the results were satisfactory. The Visorak captured, killed or mutated any being they found, making them war machines. Only some survivors escaped. The island was renamed Visorak after the victory of the brotherhood. Now Spirack and Chirox were working together to create a new breed of Visorak, one stronger and with more shadow. Every time that Spirack came to Visorak he liked to walk through the destroyed streets, with Visorak webs everywhere. After leaving the city’s ruins, he entered Chirox’s lab. It was a room with viruses contained in pods and an energized protodermis pool in the middle. Chirox emerged from the shadows, with a pot of viruses in his hands.

-Hey Spirack. Have you found the place of shadows that you are planning to put the “beast” in?-Said Chirox.

-Yes. But it’s void. And the beast is ready. After all, it always has been. But first we have to worry to make the new breed.-Said Spirack.

-The new breed is almost ready. It will be different than the other breeds of Visorak. It’s up to you to decide which rothuka power you will put in them. Finish the work or Teridax will slay you. Now I have to leave, I have some business to care in Destral.-Said Chirox, while teleporting away.

-Now I have to modify this breed. They will be a part of my failsafe; they will be called Kahgarahk.-Said Spirack.

Then, he stared putting viruses in energized protodermis.

Chapter 10

79.100 years ago…

Makava ran through the streets of Ko-hua. Night was falling. He had decided to go to search for Zercks because he saw it as an opportunity to warn Crystallus. Crystallus ice tower was near, if he wasn’t wrong. He had to hurry; he didn’t want anyone to see him with Crystallus. Finally, Crystallus ice tower came to view. He stood in front of the door, which was locked.With the power of his mask of intangibility, he crossed the door. He was a turaga, and using a noble mask took a lot of energy. Possibly he couldn’t use the mask in some days. Now he was inside the tower. He searched for Crystallus in every room of the tower, but he didn’t found him anywhere. Finally, he left a note in a table saying:

“Zercks is the killer. Leave Hua-Nui as soon as you can. Hua-nui is doomed! You must leave!

Makava”

Then he went outside of the tower, back to Hua-kini. He would say to the council that he hadn’t been able to find Zercks.

---

Zercks was at the mine. It was closing, and most matoran were already out of it. Crystallus visit yesterday hadn’t let him indifferent. Crystallus knew some things about the crimes, but nothing that could induce to thing that he was the killer. But then Zercks remembered about the notebook that Crystallus had at the day of the interrogation. There Crystallus wrote the whole conversation. Maybe there was something important in the notebook. He had to seal it. He went to the outsides of onu-hua, where old vehicles were stored to later be melted. He grabbed an old motorbike that was broken and oxidized. With his mask of technology, he transformed it into a high-potency hover board. He jumped on it, and started his voyage to Ko-hua.

---

Hours later…

Zercks is arrived at Crystallus ice tower. Using his mask again, he created a key to open the door. He searched and didn’t found Crystallus or his notebook, but found something more interesting. The note said that he was the killer. The turaga was dangerous. He knew too much things. He destroyed the note, and then went outside, at the street, ready to kill the turaga. He grabbed his motorbike, used his mask power to transform it into a hover board and made his way to Hua-kini.

Chapter 11

79.100 years ago…

Makava flew below the cold dark night, a thunderstorm was starting. He had to find Crystallus immediately. Lighting descended from the sky, illuminating for a while the dark road. The heavy rain was hitting the vehicle’s windows with much force. Driving in such conditions was dangerous, and more in Ko-hua, where some weeks a year mist raised and obstructed any light ray. Also there were those strange, small ice towers, which had been one of the main causes of accidents during thunderstorms. He was alone on the road, a fact that relaxed Makava. It was raining loudly, but he differentiated a noise from the others. It wasn’t the rain, or his vehicle’s engine. It was the engine of another vehicle, smaller and louder. Makava activated the radar and saw a hover board like object speeding to the vehicle. Then lighting struck in front of the vehicle, making Makava to do a dangerous leap and nearly missing some ice towers.

-Hell! That was close!-Though Makava.

The vehicle wasn’t damaged, but some sensors were broken, such as the radar. He slowed down, hoping to not be lost in such messy storm. He began to relax again when he saw the hover board. Mounted on it he saw a black and gray being with a mechanical arm; Zercks. Makava then accelerated to the limit. He was leaving Zercks behind, when he saw that the toa of iron threw his hover board at the vehicle. It struck the engine, and it exploded. Makava jumped off of the vehicle, and fell on the wet pavement. Zercks came walking, and absorbed all metal from the burnt remains of the vehicle.

-What a coincidence, we cross our paths in a thunderstorm. If I leave you here with that broken leg, you will die of exposure, or drowned when the river next to here overflows. But when I’m done, you won't have to worry about water, or anything else, anymore.-Said Zercks.

-Go blazes Zercks!-Said Makava.

-After killing you I might think on going blazes, but for now my objective are you.-Said Zercks.

Makava wanted to stand up and run, but his leg was broken. He made an enormous effort to stand up, but when he made his first step, he slid on the wet pavement and fell on the ground again. Resigning to death, he closed his eyes and wished for it to be quick.

-I have respect for you, so I will make it quick.-Said Zerkcs.

Then the toa of iron raised his mechanical arm hoding a sword, and then swung it at the turaga of air’s neck, cutting it in half.

Chapter 12

79.100 years ago…

Crystallus gripped the handle bars of his motor bike with such a steely grip that he could have strangled a Muaka. His face was bleak and solemn as he sped around the corner, slipping past one of the larger vehicles just a second before the traffic light changed. A melody of horn honks blared in his ears but he didn’t care.
Much had happened in the past few hours. Turaga Makava was dead, another unassociated death to the untrained eye but the entire case, the deaths, they were all linked, he could feel it. He just needed more time to put two and two together. He knew he could solve this had he more time. However, ironically; Turaga Sathorak had issued a warrant for his execution for actually surviving his encounter with the Turaga’s “pets”. Worse still, as if that wasn't already bad enough, now some crazy matoran were chasing him.
The Ko-Matoran looked up to see another traffic light and smiled wickedly. He twisted the handle bar as far to the left as he could until the bike skidded into the post horizontally at least 150 mph, slicing it clean off and sending it flying over his head. The force of the impact had been timed perfectly with the distance between him and the nearest bike. It slammed down on the front of the enemy bike, ripping the driver in half and sending thousands of volts of electricity through his body. The bike shot forwards and collided with another vehicle. Crystallus skilfully swerved aside and glared at the last remaining driver. It was a female, a Ga-Matoran. Her armor sleek and well fitted. She glared back at him, hatred burning in her eyes as she pressed on further, closing the gap between them: the chase was on.
Crystallus did a sudden turn and directed his bike off the side of the highway and over the barrier, landing on the roof of a series of apartments. He then jumped off his bike and rolled aside. Eying the rooftop and the Ga-Matoran, as she swerved off the highway and shot through the space between the road and the edge of the apartment block, he reached for a weapon and found a satellite dish. He grunted and grabbed it, yanking the aerial out of the dish and sending sparks flying. The Ga-Matoran dodged and delivered a blow to his chest that made him drop his make-shift weapon, gasp for breath, and clutch his chest. But she wasn’t finished yet. Before Crytallus could do anything, she’d kicked off a piece of piping from the structure of the roof and swung it through the air. It connected with the side of his head and sent him spiralling backwards.
A strange feeling slipped over him, like an Ice Bat’s wing had flashed across his eyes and blocked off his mind. Then there was pain. He yelled and threw himself to the ground, clutching his mask and barely managing to dodge the next blow. He could feel a hollow dent in his Kanohi that would probably torture him in the morning but, other than a little dizziness, he was unharmed... unharmed and angry.
He roared and threw himself up at the Ga-Matoran, trying to stun her to give him a chance to hit her but she stepped aside and let him dive to the floor before delivering a sharp kick to his side. She then grabbed his arm and pinned it behind his back until he screamed and begged her for mercy before saying anything.
”Are you Crystallus?” she whispered in a voice that was as soft as a fresh spring day but also as threatening as a long drop onto several very sharp rocks.
”Yes.” he grunted, half expecting the Ga-Matoran to throw him off the roof top and leave him to die on the cold concrete pavement. However, to his amazement, she dragged him to his feet and pulled him out of the light. Seconds later, lights were flashing, sirens were wailing and reinforcements arrived but the Ga-Matoran dragged him into the fire exit and out into the building. Crytallus was confused.
“What’s going on?” he asked as he was dragged down two steps at a time by the Ga-Matoran.
”I’m giving you a chance to redeem yourself.” she muttered as they burst out into the light of the ground floor. It wasn’t very bright as the highway above them blocked out most of that but it was still something that Crystallus never thought he’d see again.
The Ga-Matoran pulled him towards a side street then pressed him against the wall. “What the hell were you thinking!? How was throwing yourself off the side of a highway going to take you anywhere nearer to solving this?”
”I dunno.” grunted Crystallus as the Ga-matoran snorted in disgust and started walking off. “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”
”What? By killing yourself and leaving a mess on the floor?” she laughed as she kept walking. Crystallus frowned to himself. This Ga-Matoran was strange. She was rude, loud, bossy and dominant. He didn’t trust her one bit but he couldn’t actually decide why. Was it because she’d chased him off the side of a highway? Was it because she defeated him in two strikes with a pipe? Or was it because she’d fled from the reinforcements? He felt a mixture of them all but he couldn’t just let her get away. She wanted him alive for some reason and that was the first good thing he’d heard since the ‘Try-to-kill-Crystallus-Week’ started.
”Who are you?” he asked as he ran up beside her and tried to keep up with her brisk pace. She didn’t even look at him as she answered in an almost robotic response.
”You don’t need to know that. All I can tell you is that I’m part of a group, a group that don’t like Makuta Spirack.”
”WHAT!?” Crystallus couldn’t believe he was hearing this. Makuta Spirack had sworn himself to the Matoran and become part of their ruling council. He was literally in control of the island!
”Yes,” muttered the Ga-Matoran. “We think he’s planning something, something big, and Makuta aren’t known for making their ‘plans’ very nice for us Matoran.”
”Do you have any proof of this?” muttered Crystallus darkly.
”Do we need any?” she snorted. “Yesterday he teleported away from the council room to an island on the other side of the universe. He didn’t tell anyone, didn’t mention it, and made sure nobody noticed before doing so. I don’t think that’s very innocent.”
”So what are you accusing him of?” grunted Crystallus.
”We think he may be involved in the murder of Turaga Makava.” grunted the Ga-Matoran as she rounded a corner and slowed down for him to stay at her side. “A Makuta goes for a walk about, a Turaga is decapitated, the Makuta doesn’t say anything about it. if you don’t understand then I might as well just slit your throat and leave you here.”
”I understand,” muttered Crystallus “but... I’d thought... maybe, Toa Zercks had something to do with it.”
”WHAT!?” The Ga-Matoran stopped in her tracks and stared at him as if his Mask had just melted off his face. “What would a Toa harm a Matoran? What possible justification do you have for such an unlikely theory?”
”Well...” muttered Crystallus while kicking a stone and staring at the ground “He was acting strangely when I met him, like he knew something he wasn’t telling me, and he has that access to the Protosteel I found on the bodies of the victims.”
He waited for the Ga-Matoran to burst into a column of fiery rage but she just stared at him. An awkward silence hung until she put a hand on his shoulder and looked him in the eyes.
”Are you sure you found protosteel on the armor of the dead Matoran? Because if you have, then you may have just given us the breakthrough we needed.”
”And who is ‘we’ “asked Crystallus as they stopped at a dead end.
”My group” answered the Ga-Matoran as she tapped on the side of a garbage skip. It split in two with a metallic grunt and whine of machinery as a dark passageway appeared.
The Ga-Matoran smiled “We’re been watching the streets and corners of the this island for years, acting as Mavaka’s secret service, telling him what’s going on in the city, but that’s pretty boring and we've had a lot of spare time and since he died. We got suspicious.” She stepped inside and two burly figures appeared, grim looks stitched across their Kanohi as they studied Crystallus with undisguised boredom.
”Welcome to the resistance.” smiled the Ga-Matoran as she pushed him into the arms of the two muscular figures. “Play nice!”

Chapter 13

79.100 years ago…

Crystallus couldn’t believe what had just happened. In a few days, he had seen many people die, including his best friend, Makava. He has also been chased by some matoran riding motor bikes, and now a Ga-Matoran was questioning him in an abandoned builing.

“But, do you want me to join this secret organization?”

“Yes, and we just have assigned you your first mission.”

“And what will it be about? Stealing artifacts? Makuta murdering? After all I’ve lived in these past days that wouldn’t be strange.”

“No. Makava once told us that after in a moment of extreme need a matoran should have to go and collect the stones of power. We’ve decided that you will go Le-Hua and search for the stones.”

“What?!”

“As Makava used to say, the ways of Mata Nui are a mystery.”

Crystallus looked at the Ga-Matoran. He had to convince her that he couldn’t go to Le-Hua, that he had more important matters to attend to.

“Once, you were an explorer, weren’t you? This will not be too difficult. And have this; I fear you might need them.”

The Ga-Matoran gave Crystallus a pair of weapons. One was a nice craved shield and the other was an ice-themed sword.

“Ok. I will leave at sunset.”

Toa Zercks wandered through the streets of Ta-Hua. All the buildings in that district were craved from a type of red rock protodermis. There was a matoran legend that said that the rocks were red because of the battle that once was held between the Toa and a Kanohi Dragon there. They said that the blood of the dragon painted the rocks. Despise popular believe, that was false. Zercks had once been a miner, and knew about rocks. The matoran just didn’t know how much blood would be derramed on the streets of Hua-Nui if he succeeded.

But if he wanted to succeed he had to act as a hero… until it was the time to reveal his true intentions. No matter how many matoran or turaga attempted to stop him, if his plan succeeded he would rule everything he could see in Hua-Nui. Basically, his plan was based on three factors: massacre, his sharp swords and himself.

Zercks then felt a dark sensation going through his body. He had felt it since he had become a toa many times. He knew what the dark sensation meant. It meant he had to kill something, or someone, as soon as possible. The last time he felt it the head of a ko-matoran flew through the streets of Ko-Hua. If he didn’t want to seem suspicious to the matoran, he had to trick them. Zercks created a ball of iron, and threw it at a wall in anger. When the cloud of dust cleared, he saw some broken posters under the ball of iron. In the posters there were the images and names of five ta-matoran gangsters. The five names were familiar to him: Takihu, Kamaki, Rajanu, Hahuli and Kahiku. He saw a great opportunity to satisfy all his needs there; he would capture the five criminals to seem a hero to the matoran, and then they would suddenly “disappear”.

He heard a cry of fear. In the distance, he saw the five matoran riding in bikes and carrying automatic guns, firing wildly at the matoran in front of the great forge. Zercks ran from the street in which he was, and stepped in front of the criminals.

“Misguided citizens of Hua-Nui. Place your weapons down now and you will get out of this encounter.”

Kahiku, the leader of the gang, watched the toa with hatred eyes.

“So you are the toa that everybody speaks about. Let’s see if your toa amour is bullet proof or is just a cheap piece of metal to hide your fear”

Then, all the five matoran started to fire their guns at Zercks.

Chapter 14

79.100 years ago…

Around a dozen of Ta-Matoran watched in fear as the five matoran fired their guns at Zerkcs. Some ran, others screamed, but everyone was terrified when they saw the guns from the criminals spiting bullets directly to Toa Zercks.

Kahiku panted, and watched the shadow of the body of Zercks between the dust clouds. He was sure that most of his bullets had hit him. He though that he was going to hear some agony screams, but instead, he heard something even worse that the screech of a Sonic entity. Zercks was laughing maniacally, with all the bullets in his right hand. Zercks threw the bulled at the floor.

“Do you really though that you could trespass my prosteel armor with solid protodermis bullets. You are fools. And there is no place for fools in the shadow that will overcome all soon.”

Kahiku reloaded his gun, and made a signal to his other five Matoran companions.

“Don’t worry, Zercks, we will find a way to rip your useless brain apart.”

A grin spread through Zercks’ face.

“I don’t think so Matoran, as for now all you’ve done is a pathetic last-word speech. Why don’t we get into more action?”

Zercks charged at the Matoran with his swords, and the matoran prepared for the attack. Zercks threw one of his swords at Rajanu, and the matoran barely dodged the attack. Kamaki slashed his protodermis dagger at Zercks, knocking the toa’s kanohi off. Zercks quickly jumped for the Kanohi, and Tahiku blasted him square in the chest with a shoulder mounted energy canon. Zercks flew straight to the great forge, and he collided with a stone pilar, bringing it down.

“So you want to play hard, don’t you?”

Zercks created two iron saws and ran at the matoran. Zercks stopped two meters in front of them, and he began to spin the saws wildly. Hahuli fired his madly his submachine gun at Zercks, and one of the bullets scrached the metal of Zercks head, and from the superficial scratch blood began to emerge.

Hahuli shouted loud, so his fellow matoran could hear him.

“Shoot at his head! Shoot at it! It’s not made of prosteel!”

Before any of his companions could hear him Zercks advanced through the rain of bullets, and kicked the matoran in the stomach with his mechanical arm. Then he swung the two saws at the matoran, ripping Hahuli’s chest open.

The five ta-matoran insurgents watched with horror the scene, and they renewed their fight with Zercks. The toa of iron had seen where his mask was located, and ran for it. Before the toa could catch the mask Rajanu kicked it at full force, sending it at the stairs of the great temple. Zercks was about to cut the matoran’s head off when Kamaki blasted Zercks in the back with his energy cannon. Zercks flew through the air, and landed hard on a lightstone streetlight, bending it in half. Zercks jumped high into the air, and then he grabbed Makaki by the neck. Zercks began to strangle him, when Vulcaran appeared and stabbed Zercks in the arm with his two pronged spear. Zercks threw Vulcaran to the ground, and Tahiku started to fire wildly at Zerkcs’ back. Zercks, enraged, threw Vulcaran, Tahiku and Kamaki to their motorbikes. Then, the toa of iron grabbed Kamaki by the neck, and ran to the stairs of the Great Forge. Once there, he putted his recovered his mask of technology, and he felt his inner strength return to him. Zercks, remembering that Kamaki had attacked him with the energy canon, blasted the Ta-Matoran at the wall of the Great Forge with so much force that the walls of the temple shook and Kamaki’s kanohi got incrusted to his face.

Zercks then ran at the other matoran, who where firing at him from behind their bikes. Zercks threw his last saw at the matoran, which barely missed Takihu’s head. Zercks jumped on the bikes, preparing himself to impale Kahiku. Takihu launched a grenade at Zercks, and the toa of iron simply allowed it to explode in his mechanical arm.

“You don’t understand. You have already sealed your destiny, matoran. Give up and I will make it painless.”

“I don’t care about pain. I only want you dead.”

“Pain? What do you know of pain? I once was trapped in a mine that caved in, and the rocks crushed my left arm. The worst is that I wasn’t knocked unconscious by the cave-in, so I was awake for one day and two nights with blood spilling out of my arm until the Onu-Matoran came to rescue me. Of course, I don’t have any memories of that, due to the shock, but they have told me what happened. I’ve become the master of pain… as you are just to prove by yourself”

Zercks created tiny prosteel shards, and sent them flying at the matoran. The matoran ran, and hided behind a motorbike. Vulcaran then jumped out with his two automatic guns and began to fire at Zercks. Zercks grabbed one of the motorbikes, and he threw it at Vulcaran, knocking him cold. Zercks slowly advanced to the position where both Vulcaran and the bike had landed. Vulcaran saw everything blurry; he only heard the rage cries of his fellow matoran criminals and the sound of bullets being fired at Zercks. He also smelled gasoline; he turned his head to see the motorbike and the repository of it broken by the impact, leaking the combustible. Then Vulcaran had an idea, he reached a box that was attached to the motorbike, and took a flamethrower from it. He stood up, and ordered to the other ta-matoran to run. Zercks looked at Vulcaran.

“No matter what you do. No matter what you try. You’re doomed, and you know it.”

Vulcaran then jumped high on the air, and in mid-air he activated the flamethrower, which sent a huge fire bolt that stroke the motorbikes. When Vulcaran landed on the floor a few meters farther, he covered his ears with his hands. Then an earth-shaking explosion made Zercks fly through the air in flames.

Kahiku blasted the door of the forge open.

“Let’s enter to the forge! There we will have higher chances of survival”

The four matoran entered at the forge, and locked the door. The matoran rushed to cross the bridge that crossed the lake of lava that was on the center of the building. The door flew through the air, and Zercks, his armor hissing and steaming, created a metallic spiked whip. He ran to the bridge, and thanks for being a toa, he quickly was on the heels of the matoran. Zercks swung his whipe at Takihu, the spikes deep stabbed into his armor. Rajanu throwed a grenade at Zercks feet, and it exploded, shattering the bridge to pieces. Rajanu fell on the lava, while Zercks, Vulcaran and Kahiku fell on a small maintenance platform. Zercks grabbed Vulcaran, and threw him with so much force that he broke through the hemispherical glass at the roof of the forge.

“You see, Matoran. Now, we are alone. Before you were Kahiku, the insurgent, the criminal, the rebel. But now what are you? Nothing but a simple scared Ta-Matoran.”

“It’s my destiny, it’s everybody’s destiny. All of us have to die, sooner or later.”

“You’re out of bullets, your daggers are broken, you don’t even have forces to continue fighting”

“Don’t be mistaken Zercks. Even if you kill me now, my battle hasn’t ended. As long as you remember my last words through you life, as long as you remember this day, my fight will not be over. I’ll hunt you in your nightmares, Zercks.”

Zercks, annoyed, impaled Kahiku with a sword. He then sat on the ground, meditating about Kahiku’s last words.

Chapter 15

79.100 years ago…

Vulcaran slowly awoke. His vision was blurry, and still a bit red from the blood that was covering his face. He had received an impact on his head, and had small, sharp, crystal shards nailed all over his body. He didn’t remember what happened, neither where he was. He could make out some dirty chimneys, and he was in a skylight. Next to him there was a big hole in the skylight. It looked like if someone had just smashed through it. He tried to move his arm, but when he did so, the crystal of the skylight below cracked.

“Don’t move.”

Vulcaran turned, and saw another Ta-Matoran. The matoran was clad in red and yellow armor, and wore a great Hau. Though they were at a very high altitude and the cold was biting Vulcaran’s injures, that Ta-Matoran seemed to control the situation.

“Do you remember how you got there?”

“No, I don’t.”

“It’s normal. You have received a tremendous hit in the head, and you saw your companions killed. You have temporary amnesia; it will pass in a few days. Until then I suggest you to come with me.”

“Why should I? How do I know that you weren’t the one that left me here?”

“Think about it. You are here, injured. If you don’t come with me, you have a few options. You can stay here, and probably you will die in a few hours from blood loss and cold. That if you don’t move. If you try to move, there is a 90% chance of you falling down to the forge’s floor, and believe me, if you fall from so high you will become a mass of blood and bones. If you have luck, and manage to get to the chimneys, where the temperature will be higher, you will be attacked in a few hours by Skaav birds, how will make you fall from your position and break through the skylight. The only good option is to come with me.”

Vulcaran sighed. Who was that guy? That matoran could be the one that had caused his wounds. However, either if he liked it or not, he had to go with the Ta-Matoran.

“I’ll come. Just one thing; if I see that this is some sort of trick, or that you want to kill me, I won’t doubt to kick this crystal, and we both will fall to our dooms.”

“You are furious. You need to have someone to who you can make responsible of your wounds, and make him or her pay for it. Don’t worry. A private T-4 air craft is coming for us. It should be here in a few minutes.”

“How did you find me?”

“I was walking around here when I saw that the surrounding zone of the Great Forge was blocked with iron walls. I supposed that something bad had happened, so I went through the fire exit until I arrived here to see what happened.”

Vulcaran was going to say something, but in his mind the images of some ta-matoran being killed by a dark figure. He pulled the though out, and concentrated on being careful to not move. The stranger didn’t talk either, and to Vulcaran he made the impression that he was introvert. As he had said, the T-4 air craft arrived a few minutes later. It was a dull gray and black small air craft. It used hovering technology, and two mechanical arms grabbed them and pulled them to the inside of the craft. Once there, Vulcaran and the ta-matoran sat on the cabin of the ship, and activated the automatic pilot to some region of Ta-Hua.

“Ah, I almost forgot to tell you something, Vulcaran. Forget your name; you won’t be using it anymore. You are officially dead now. From now and for the rest of your life, you will live with a false name. You will have to switch that Kaukau that you are wearing to a spare noble Rau that I have at my home. You will be a shadow. If you had any friends, you won’t be seeing them anymore. And I am Gedakk, chief psychologist of the Hua Nui University.”

At the same time, in the Ko-Hua district, Lagira watched as clouds darkened the sky and rain fell down on the homes of the Ko-Matoran. She had never liked Ko-Matoran. Most of them were just dreamers, who worked for Spirack’s government. But Crystallus was different. She had been looking at Crystallus’ expedient for the past hour, and saw that Crystallus was different from the rest of Ko-Matoran. He worked as an astrologer, telling the prophecies to Makuta Spirack once a year. As this only took a few months to do, he worked the rest of the year in the Ko-Hua archives. Those were normal jobs in the Ko-Matoran society, but Crystallus differed from the rest of them in that he hadn’t a complete submission to Spirack’s law. While in Lagira’s district, Ga-Hua, it was permitted to criticize de government; in Ko-Hua it was forbidden. If there ever was a civil war in Hua-Nui, Lagira was sure that Ko-Hua would side with Spirack. But she knew that although Crystallus had good intentions, it was very possible that he failed in his mission. That’s why she had a plan b; in case that Crystallus failed she had though of a back-up.

“I want you to go there, following Crystallus, without him knowing. Don’t interfere in his mission; just get to the hidden Le-Hua temple. I don’t mind who arrives before, I just want you to get there and take the stones of power.”

“We don’t even know if they exist, Lagira. I think that they are just a legend.”

“Maybe. But Makava said that they were crucial for the future of the matoran of Hua-Nui, Kuulus.”

“Makava never said that they were toa stones, Lagira. The legend has been deformed over the years, and now the few people who know it say that there are toa stones in Le-Hua. But Makava, one of the oldest Turaga of Hua Nui, always referred to them as ‘objects of power’. We don’t even know the nature of the objects of power.”

“That doesn’t matter. Crystallus is already on his way to Le-Hua, but I bet that he still hasn’t got there. I think that he may found an expedition team before he goes there, so you have plenty of time to track him and follow him.”

Then the two Ko-Matoran, Kuulus and Algor, exited the room. Lagira put Crystallus’ expedient in the drawer of her desk, and watched through the window as the rain fell from the gray clouds. Little knew Lagira that soon the situation was going to turn as dark as the sky.

Chapter 16

79.100 years ago…

Sathorak had worked hard to reach his position. He had passed from being just a weak Turaga to be the most important businessman in Hua-Nui. Of course, to do that, he cheated many times, suborned a lot of people, threatened even more of them, but that didn’t matter as now he was on the top. Nobody questioned him. Only Makuta Spirack was over him, and the Makuta never had interfered with his dirty actions. Some centuries ago, he had bought Le-Hua. Now he had entire control over his territory, he was the ruler of Le-Hua. Theoretically it still was a part of Hua-Nui, but the roads that connected it with the rest of the city were closed, and the law, the law imposed by him, was the one enforced by his Matoran minions. Some dared to call him a mobster, but it was easy to silence them. Sathorak’s favorite technique was to encase them in a block of metal and throw them to the silver sea. Some decades ago, Sathorak had envisioned a revolutionary project. He wanted to recreate the wildlife that went extinct when the Matoran first colonized Hua Nui. So far, he had had success into recreating the fearsome Rewera and the agile Nagatara. There was still a lot of work to do, but someday he would reach his goal. Some had asked the reason for wanting to do such thing, but Sathorak refused to reveal the true intentions of it. But the last day a Ko-Matoran had opposed him, and worst, the Ko-Matoran had gotten out of the skirmish alive. He even had managed to kill three of his precious Nagatara raptors. He was going to make him pay for that. Sathorak had eyes and ears everywhere in Hua-Nui, and he had discovered that Crystallus was headed to Le-Hua. Once he got there, Sathork would weave a web of lies, and then nothing could prevent the Ko-Matoran from falling into the trap.

A storm raged above Ko-Hua. Rain fell down to the streets, and a light mist was arising. There was nobody in the streets. Usually, there wasn’t too much street activity; but when it rained, no Ko-Matoran were on the street. They didn’t like rain. And now Crystallus was walking through the lonely streets of Ko-Hua, with his skin soaked of water. Crystallus disliked rain. He hoped that the storm ended in the following day. And rain remembered him of Makava’s death. Makava had died in a day with similar meteorological conditions, with heavy rain and fog. Though he had hidden his sadness from others, like Lagira, he couldn’t hide it from himself. In that moment he felt a mixture of strange feelings. Rage and fear towards Zercks, mourning for Makava, and indifference for his mission in Le-Hua. Getting again in the jungles wasn’t something that Crystallus wanted to do. But he would do it, as it was Makava’s will. He put his thoughts aside and continued walking. For a moment he though that he saw two shadows in a dark corner of the street. He couldn’t tell what the shadows were because water drops blurred his vision, and when he ran to the street corner the shadows disappeared. He looked at the street, but there was nobody. He was alone. He continued walking downwards the street. He was at one of the poorest neighborhoods of the district, where the owners couldn’t afford to buy Crystal Tower homes. The government of Spirack had always tried to hide this part of Ko-Hua from the rest of the world. As far as Crystallus knew, in most other districts nobody knew about that place. He suddenly felt a blade pressing in his back.

“Give me everything you have.”

Crystallus turned and saw a Ko-Matoran with a sharp knife. Unlike most Ko-Matoran Crystallus had met, the white armor of that matoran was very dirty, and stains of mud where everywhere in his armor. That Matoran wanted to robe him, but he wasn’t going to give up his possessions to a robber. In his bag he had some supplies, a tablet and a pen and some other important stuff. The sword and the shield that Lagira had given to him were there too.

“Don’t kill me. I’ll get out my valuable things now.”

Crystallus opened his bag, and slowly took of his sword. The Matoran saw this, and sliced his knife at Crystallu’s back. However, he rolled on the floor, avoiding the knife. Crystallus got up again. Now his armor was stained too of the mud from the floor. He got up to his feet, and threw his bag aside. Sword in hand, he prepared to defend himself.

“So you have a sword. Let’s see if you know how to use it.”

The matoran ran to Crystallus, and sliced his knife. Crystallus tried to swing his sword, but he found that it was actually heavier than he had originally though. He made an effort, and managed to block the Ko-Matoran’s knife. However the Ko-Matoran was skilled with the knife and in a moment it was pointing at Crystallus throat.

“You are just some rich lunatic who thinks that is safe to go here with a sword. Now don’t make more stupidities; I could rob from a dead matoran as well as I do from a living one.”

Then a third figure stepped in the fight.

“Whakano, haven’t you got anything better to do?”

“Shut up! This is nothing that concerns you. Get off of here or you will share his fate!”

The third matoran had a cleaner armor than Whakano, the robber. He was a Ko-Matoran, and wore a Kanohi shaped like a Krana Vu.

Whakano jumped on the third matoran, and began to punch him. He got out his knife, and tried to stab him in the shoulder. However, the third matoran got up to his feet before Whakano could hit him with his knife, and kicked the matoran in the face. Whakano fell on the floor, and ran to the matoran again, but he slipped and fell face down on the wet floor. Before Whakano could get up to his feet the third matoran trampled him. He got his foot off from Whakano’s back, and allowed him to stand up. Then he punched him on the chest, making him to spit blood.

“Now get out of here, and be careful when you walk through these streets, because if cross my way with you again, you will regret the encounter.”

Whakano walked away, limping.

“Are you alright?”

“Well, yes, thanks to you.”

“Oh, it was easy. I saw that you carry a sword. Do you know that carrying weapons in this district is illegal?”

“Oh, it’s a long story.”

“Tell me of it. I have plenty of time.”

The two matoran walked under the rain under they arrived at a small and austere house. They talked about a quarter of hour. That Ko-Matoran was named Loraka. After Crystallus had told his experiences, Loraka frowned.

“If that is true, you can’t go to Le-Hua. You don’t know how to fight.”

“But I saw how you knocked out that matoran thief. You could train me to fight.”

“It would take some time to do that. What would I gain?”

“I can’t offer much to you. Most of my possessions still are at my home.”

“I will train you if you take me to Le-Hua. I want to try a work there in the factories.”

“Alright. But don’t tell anyone about this.”

“Ok. You can stay here until tomorrow, if you want. When the storm is over we will start our training.”

Crystallus was already climbing up the stairs that lead to the second floor, when he turned to Loraka.

“Just one more question. Before I was attacked, I saw two shadows in a street corner, following me. Where those two shadows you and Whakano?

“No, you must be mistaken. I came from the opposite direction of that corner, and the matoran came from behind you.”

“Well. Let’s talk tomorrow.”

Crystallus then entered a small room in the second floor, and lay on an unclean bed. Someone was following them, now he was completely sure about that.

Chapter 17

The Onu-Matoran guard gasped for breath as he ducked behind a wall and crouched beneath a display case. Alarms were flaring, exhibits were on the rampage and all of Karzahni had broken out in the Onu-Hua Archives.
He closed his eyes and tried to remember what had gone so horribly wrong but he didn’t know. He hadn’t been there when the intruder arrived.
He thumbed for his earpiece, desperate to call for backup. It slipped off his mask and fell to the floor. He swore and snatched it up. His Kanohi Calix was terrible for the grip of the ear piece and it kept falling off at the worst of times.
”Come on…” he whined silently as the sound of the waves crackling filled his audio receptor. He was sure the footsteps were drawing closer to him now. Every time they did he could feel a hammer pounding a nail into his heart light.
The attack had been staged perfectly, even he had to admit that. The intruder had walked in through the front door, crippled every single mechanical device in the museum, then started marching forwards, killing everything he saw. As far as the Onu-Matoran knew, he was the only guard left.
Without warning, there was a burst of energy as a Cordak Rocket struck one of the display cases and sent it toppling. The guard swore and flinched then yelled for mercy. He had already given away his position when he swore it was no use playing along now.
The Cordak missile struck him in the head. It exploded on impact, reducing his entire face to a bloody mess. The Cordak erupted from the back of his head with a forest of circuits and bone following it. He slumped to the already blood soaked floor. Toa Zercks chuckled dryly as he tossed the Cordak Blaster aside and surveyed his surroundings. He’d never been one for museums – Too dusty. Now he was making them a little bit more exciting. He nearly pitied the unfortunate cleaner who would have to mop up the mess.
By clenching his fist, he made the wall in front of him crunch into a small metal ball. He toyed with it before flattening it out into a disc then placed it on the floor. Using his Elemental Powers, he let it rise and he stepped on. Walking around museums was the last thing he wanted to do today and he had no intention of learning anything.
As he hovered through the hole and into the darkened, cave-like passageway, he began to question himself. He was a Toa of Iron, he should be protecting the Matoran, and in a way he was. By finding the Toa Stone in this rundown section of the archives – If it actually existed – He was saving some poor soul of a head-strong Matoran from having to kill anyone with his powers. He knew that Toa were evil, he knew that they had no control over their powers. So much of a slip of his finger and someone’s head could go flying to the ground. Toa did not deserve to live, so he was making sure no others were made.
But that still left the question of himself. He was not a Toa, not anymore at least. He was so much more than that. He may look like a Toa, he may have a Toa Mask, Toa Tools, and Toa Energy running through his circuits but at his heart, he knew it would never be that of a filthy Toa.
He turned a corner and felt something strike him in the mask. He swore as he was thrown off of his makeshift hover board and as he hit the floor. He rubbed the back of his head as he pulled himself up to inspect the cause of his fall. He was disappointed to find it was just a piece of the ceiling. It caved lower as he went deeper underground. This place wasn’t exactly built for… Beings like him, but that wasn’t going to stop him. Zercks grunted and swung one of his swords at the roof wooden beam in the roof. It hacked straight through it and the rotten wood crumbled. The Toa of Iron’s frown deepened. He would have thought that the beam was stronger than to just cave in but still it shuddered beneath the earth above it.
The crazed Toa of Iron was too angry to recognize his mistake but when he did it just angered him to more. He now had the to decide whether or not he was going to stay behind then dig his way through the tunnel or just run through it and hope it did not collapse on him. He grunted, picked up his metal hover board and let it hover above his head as he charged forwards. The entire cave shook as he ran through it. Already he could see rocks tumbling to the ground around him. The hover board was being pounded by pebbles and debris as he continued running forwards. He had worked in mines for years and knew what to do in a situation like this but whatever he had learnt about safety, keeping calm and positioning seemed to be engulfed by his rage as he continued his mad dash for the other end of the tunnel.
He could imagine a light at the end of his sight but there was no light down here. He was about a bio underground and the only light came from the fading light-stones that were now falling from the ceiling. Yet he could still see something before him. The next corridor was near now, only the length of a Muaka left for his enhanced muscles to run. He could do it!
Zercks dived for the ground as he skidded into the end of the tunnel and slammed into a wall of another corridor. He rolled aside as the earth from the other corridor caved in and swallowed up his only chance of escape.
The Toa of Iron dusted himself off and stood up. There was no turning back now. He had to continue, find that Toa Stone, then worry about getting out when it was ground the ground by his armored heal.
The Toa turned around to walk down the other corridor. It did not take him long until he reached a split where the passageway divided in two. This time Zercks decided it was best not to try and smash anything. He studied to support on both tunnels down to the finest detail. The one on the left seemed old, unstable and the wooden supports were riddled with cracks and were rotten. The one on the right was not much different but he decided it looked stronger. He decided to step into the right tunnel. As his foot moved through the air, he thought he felt something touch it. He froze and stared down to see nothing but air. He twirled his foot around until it connected with something metallic. He frowned and placed his foot back on the ground then looked at the entrance to the tunnel. He pushed his right arm forward towards it – He could afford to have that arm replaced again. When it stopped in mid air his theory was confirmed. There was some sort of an invisible barrier that was blocking his entry.
Angered, he stepped back and picked up a rock. He hurled it at the barrier and was shocked to see it sail through untouched. Again he tried to no result. Then he roared and pounded on it with all his might. He clawed at him, punched it, even swung his sword at it but still he was blocked.
He paused, trying to think what was wrong. He had once heard a tale of an Onu-Matoran hero escaping from Rahkshi through a tunnel that no evil could enter. Of course, that was fiction, there was evil in everyone… just more in some than others.
Zerchs activated his Kanohi Sikat and scanned the area for technology. When he found the generator of the invisible force field he ripped it out and crushed it into the ground. The second he stepped foot inside the arch he regretted even touching it.
Something rushed past him before he could do anything. He swore and swung his sword wildly, making it contact with the shadowy figure. He was surprised to hear a Rahi’s scream. The entity had charged out of the shadows on what he knew had to be two legs. What kind of Rahi walked on its hind-legs? Zercks did not want to know what beasts had been hiding beneath the Archives, and he wanted to see them even less as dozens poured out of the corridor.
Zyglak – Their screams were enough to make even the cut throat murderer in Zercks flinch. He backed away slowly, fear in his eyes. Even he did not stand a chance against these creatures. They had spears and knives and they would shove them down his throat before he could even throw a punch if he let them anywhere near him.
He retreated, hurling sharp iron blades at them, scratching at their armor, using their weapons against them but for every cursed creature that was felled to his dirty fighting another two sprung up to replace it.
It made sense to him now. The Zyglak had not been hiding in this cave – What would a Zyglak have to fear? They were trapped, imprisoned in this tunnel for some reason. There could only be one explanation and that was that they were there to guard the Toa Stone. He wished he had picked the left passageway instead. There could not be anything worse than a swarm of Zyglak… It made him wonder what had trapped them there in the first place.
Ducking a vicious swipe from one of the first Zyglak he tried to remember everything he could about the vile creatures. They had some Protodermis destroying disease when they touched you, they had the strength of a Toa, and were literally invulnerable to elemental attacks. There was no way he could defeat them. There was no technology in the tunnel that he could use against them, their scaly skin was too strong for him to harm them and they were stronger than him. There was nothing he could do.
Zercks was so caught up in his thoughts that he did not see the Zyglak as it screamed and shoved its spear into his robotic right arm. He screamed as electricity surged up his arm and into the Zyglak, blasting it backwards where it hit the ground dead. The Toa of Iron cringed and tried to block the electricity from him but it surged through him.
His electronic arm exploded into a mess of circuits and wires. He could repair it, given time and equipment, but he did not see it happening anytime soon. As he looked up at the Zyglak that encircled him he was sure he saw something, just for a second. He saw something that chilled him to the bone as he stared into the scaly faces of death in the Zyglak’s moved in for the kill.
They smiled.

Chapter 18

“We’ve finished our training, Crystallus”.

Crystallus lay on the floor, exhausted, and saw as his trainer, Loraka, held high his sword. He was in Loraka’s house, a hut made of stone which was too small and dirty to Crystallus’ taste. But he knew that Loraka was anything but wealthy, and that Loraka was friendly, and that made up for all the incommodities of his hut. It had been two weeks since he had left his normal life to avenge Makava’s death and find the Toa Stones, and five days since he had started his training with Loraka. Though his Ko-Matoran companion was very strict in the intensity of his training sessions, Crystallus had befriended him.

“Then, can we go to Le-Hua now? I mean after I’ve taken some rest, of course.”

“Are you crazy? We will be killed by a wild Rahi or get lost and die of malnutrition. We have to get a guide, an expert at poisons, someone with some good skills as a crafter, and maybe even another specialist.”

Crystallus rose from the ground, and watched at the dirty lightsone that lighted the small hut.

“How will we convince them?”

“Haven’t you ever heard tales about Le-Hua? They say that there are treasures hidden by the Great Beings there. We just have to find Matoran foolish or enthusiastic enough to believe that legend, and get them with us to Le-Hua.”

“And what happens if Zercks finds us and decides to kill us?”

Loraka shrugged, like if it was a matter of minimal importance.

“I don’t know. He is a toa, and we are matoran. We can’t do anything.”

“Yes, there is a possibility. We should talk to a Ta-Matoran that once I met.”

And with that, Crystallus grabbed his backpack from the one and only table of the hut, and went off to the street. Loraka followed, but stopped Crystallus.

“Where are we headed?”

“We will go to Ta-Hua.”

“And how do you want to go there?”

“On a Sub-Track Runner. There is a station near my home.”

Loraka had heard of Sub-Track runners, they were underground trains that ran on tracks. The original idea was sold by the Matoran of a far away island, but so far their version was not as good as the original one. While the ones of that island ran on some type of ionic energy, similar to the one of the lightning, the ones in Hua Nui ran on a toxic gas found in pockets at the bottom of Ga-Hua. Due to the fact that the energy that they used was so rare, the tickets were very expensive.

“Are you going to pay the tickets?”

“Yes, I am. Now let’s go there before night falls.”

Fear. For the first time in two weeks, Zercks was feeling that hateful sensation. His heartlight beat faster than ever, his muscles tensed, and his breath accelerated. His mind couldn’t think clearly, his instincts told him to just run away hopelessly. He had once felt something similar, when he had been trapped in a caved-in mine. Now he was feeling the most primitive of the fears; the one of being ate by a savage, monstrous and lesser creature. But Zercks couldn’t do anything. His mechanical arm had been blown away by the beasts. The entrance where he had come from was blocked by Zyglak. Worse, he was surrounded by a horde of them.

Then he tried to calm down. He hadn’t killed so many Matoran, suffered and caused so much pain for nothing. He had a goal to accomplish, and he wasn’t going to let a bunch of beings that didn’t even have destiny to destroy his schemes. Though Zercks knew that the Zyglak hated Matoran, Toa, Turaga and anything related to it, including language, he was sure that they would understand Matoran, and even speak it.

“Do you actually think that you can kill me?”

One of the Zyglak, its armor heavier and rustier stepped in from the crowd, and growled some words in the language of the beasts. Then he stared at Zercks.

“We can do worse things… Have you ever tried the experience of having your flesh eaten away? ”

“Should I bother answering? Last time I checked, mutated Krana didn’t talk.”

Zercks didn’t even have time to blink as the Zyglak leader jumped on him, followed by the rest of the enraged beasts. He managed to create a prosteel bubble, protecting him from the lethal touch of the Zyglak. But it wouldn’t last, he had to think of some way to distract the beasts and get out of there. Then he remembered of his mask. He concentrated, and scanned the area with his Kanohi Sikat for technology. The Zyglak’s spears were far too crude to be controlled, and hardly anything else in the abandoned tunnels could be considered technology. Zercks remembered of the lightsones that gave a low lighting to the tunnel. They weren’t considered as technology by Matoran… but he had to try. He hadn’t had a lot of time. The scratches that the Zyglak were doing with their claws were weakening the protecting structure. So Zercks activated the power of his Kanohi once more, and used its power on the lightstones. He tracked down its energy source, and saw an enormous caver filled with intense light. He altered the lightsones, and augmented its power to draw energy from the source, but Zercks didn’t augment the energy storage capacity. As a result, the lightsones overloaded. If Zercks had been able to see through the metal barrier protecting him, he would have seen them exploding, sending sparks of lights and energy everywhere, and Zyglak running around screaming. They use fear as a weapon… -Zercks though- and so I do.

He used the distraction and threw the metal barrier away, knocking a few Zyglak out of their feet. Zercks then created a bunch of prosteel daggers. If he was going to fight the Zyglak, he had to avoid physical contact with them.

Zercks threw them at the enraged beasts, which were beginning to notice that the Toa of Iron was free, but when they hit the Zyglak’s scaly skin, they just blended. If his iron couldn’t penetrate the Zyglak’s skin, he didn’t stand a chance to defeat the monsters.

More and more Zyglak recovered from they temporary blindness, and began to march towards Zercks. The leader was already running toward him. Pain was burning inside him as the injuries of the part that once had held his mechanical arm ached.

The toa could do nothing but watch them with awe. They were never meant to exist, they were just a mistake, but still, they were there, alive, and uprising to the society. Maybe he and the Zyglak were not that different. And in an impulse, Zercks punched the Zyglak leader with his only hand, and opened a hole in its chest. However, the virus had just started to infect him. He screamed, as he felt the flesh of his hand being eaten. But then, the solution became water clear to him. He approached the dead corpse of the Zyglak, and put his hand inside the wound. First it was painful, but finally he was beginning to feel senseless. Then he pulled his whole arm inside the creature, and left the virus flow through his body.

Characters

• Crystallus
• Zercks
• A spine bear - Deceased
• Khuran
• Vakahi - Deceased
• Makuta Spirack
• Makuta Chirox
• Turaga Makava - Deceased
• A ko-matoran - Deceased
• A ko-matoran engineer
• Turaga Sathorak
• Two matoran guards
• Three Nagatara - All Deceased
• Takihu - Deceased
• Kamaki - Deceased
• Rajanu - Deceased
• Hahuli - Deceased
• Kahiku - Deceased
• Vulcaran - Injured
• Gedakk
• Lagira
• Kuulus
• Algor

Trivia

• Chapter 8 is based on Michael Crichton's novel The Lost World.
• The reference of Makava's mailbox being 8920 is related to my user name.
• Chapters 12 and 17 were guest written by User:Matoro1.
• The Sub-Track Runner and Tehktra Nui were both created by User:Ids5621.