Protectorate Tales: Condemned by the City of the Dead will be a short story released under the umbrella name; Protectorate Tales. It takes place within Ids5621 storyline, but it is written by Abc8920.
Story[]
The room of the archives was dark, and only a small bulb that emitted a dim light illuminated a wooden table. Toa Onuix sat in a metal chair, tired, and got a mini-computer from a drawer. He had sought shelter from his worries in various unproductive activities, such as lying in bed and sleeping, but he had been unsuccessful. So he had decided to write the report of the last mission he had gone to. That mission was also the source of his worries. He pressed a button in the side of the mini-computer, and a keyboard extended, and he started to type.
Mission Number: 513
Date: 1001 AGC, 21st Day
Mission Summary: Distress Call received from a ship in the middle of the Silver Sea, on route to Metru Nui. Later events of the mission revealed that in fact […]
“So, all we have to do is bring them this strange lightsone-based combulstible, my fellow Protodite?”
Onuix looked at Procks, annoyed.
“I see, that apart from being mindless, you have a very bad sight. Don’t call me Protodite!”
“Hey, hold your Rahi, Onuix. It was just one of my daily 27 jokes aimed at you.”
“Just get the shuttle ready and end this mission quickly.”
[…] and here, attached, there is a copy of the distress call that we received.
“Matoran ship heading to Metru Nui is in need of Avdermis. We are in the middle of the Silver Sea, halfway between Karzahni and our destination. I repeat, we need the Avdermis with urgency because if not our cargo will die.”
What we didn’t know, is that in this message there was both truth and lie, though later we realized that the first was far worse than the second […]
Procks charged the last of the Avdermis barrels on the Protectorate shuttle, and then closed the door of the ship. He sat on the copilot’s seat, and looked at the complex machinery, full of button and small lights, that covered the room. He didn’t understand how the shuttle functioned, but it was indeed amazing. Its design, sleek and neat, represented a Protectorate shield, and it was seen as a sing of hope upon the Matoran community. It was powered by repulsion engines, which allowed it to function both in the air and underwater. Only if he knew how to drive it… but that was Onuix’s job.
The Toa of Stone turned, and saw the short Toa of Gravity entering the room. Onuix threw him something, and Procks caught it in mid air. It was his Cordak Blaster.
“Why have you brought it, Procks? We are going to deliver combustible to a ship, not fight against an army of bloodshed-thirsty Zyglak.”
“Who knows? We could be attacked by Dark Hunter fleets in our way. Remember that now that the Matoran have returned to the City of Legends, the Dark Hunters have also regained their interest in the city. And besides, I never travel without my Cordak blaster and a few hand grenades.”
Onuix, not wanting to further into the discussion, sat on his chair, and started the engine of the Shuttle. He pulled a few levers, and then the ship started to hover a few meters from the ground.
“Put your belt on.”
Procks did what the Toa of Gravity had asked, and then put the Cordak blaster in his feet.
After pushing a few more buttons, the shuttle’s nose raised, until the ship formed a 90º angle with the ground. Onuix then pulled another lever, and the ship shot to the roof of the hangar. The shuttle continued straight to the roof, when the walls of it retracted, and formed a circular hole big enough for their Shuttle to pass. After half a minute, they had gained the needed altitude, and Onuix put the Shuttle on horizontal position again.
“Just wondering, are we doing a mission like this? If the crew is not on a critical danger, usually we pass the task to the nearest island.”
Onuix stopped looking through the window, and faced his companion.
“It’s not an usual mission, Procks. That lightsone-based combustible is called Avdermis, and it’s rare.”
“I never heard of it.”
“It’s just on experimental stage, it’s just used to power islands that have got all their other sources of energy cut, like in a siege.”
“Why is it so un-used?”
“The Avdermis is a very concentrated form of energy. Two barrels like the ones we are carrying could power an entire city. But as of now, our technology is not enough advanced to successfully control it. Avdermis costs a lot to produce, and can’t be used to power medium-sized or small machines. And it is also very volatile. If a single spark of energy contacts with Avdermis, it explodes. This means that whoever is travelling in that ship we are going to rescue, has a technology enough advanced to catalyze the Avdermis and make it usable for an engine as small as the one in a ship. That’s why I accepted the mission.”
[…] The voyage to the ship’s location took three hours. Many of the following events maybe wouldn’t have happened if we had had checked the systems of the Protectorate Shuttle before leaving the HQ. The stealth system was broken, and assuming that the crew of the ship were Matoran, we didn’t take any further caution. However, as we soon found out, we should have […]
The Protectorate Shuttle landed softly on the water. In front of them, at a twenty meter distance, was the mysterious ship. Procks got up, and headed to the storage room. Before leaving the cabin, he looked at Onuix, who was staring at some thing the screen of the Shuttle was showing.
“Should I bring the barrels, Onuix?”
“No, not yet. The computer of our Shuttle doesn’t detect any life forms inside the ship.”
“So we have travelled Mata Nui knows how many kilometers to see that the crew has abandoned the ship?”
“Maybe not. Remember, the ship is more advanced than our vehicles. It could have some sort of shield, which prevents my scanners from penetrating the ship’s surface. We should go there in a small boat, and see ourselves if there is actually people inside.”
Onuix shut down the machinery, and followed Procks to the storage room. Procks reloaded his Cordak blaster, and attached an Axe to his back.
“This time you won’t convince me, Onuix. I will carry weapons. It’s not my problem if there are ones taller than you.”
“I’ve seen maces in this storage room that have a brain bigger than yours, Procks. But now we must get going. I’ll carry my Gravitan Vortex Generators, and my Gravitan Jump Jets.”
The two exited the hangar, and went up some stairs, until they found a hatch. Onuix opened the door, and ordered Procks to grab on his Protectorate Shield. The Toa of Gravity then jumped off the Shuttle, and with the help of his Gravitan Jump Jets, the pair slowly flew to the ship they had to rescue.
As they advanced, Procks observed the appearance of the ship. It had a rectangular shape, except for the bow, which was rounded. The surface was completely flat, except for a small cabin on the center of it, which had no doors. The whole ship was made of a blackish metal, and it helped to give an imposing feeling to it. Finally, they landed on the board.
“Hey, anyone at home? I’m Toa Procks, member of the Toa Protectorate. My midget friend is Onuix, and we both have come to bring you combustible. Let us enter your vessel.”
At first they didn’t get respond, but then the small cabin in the center retracted, leaving an entrance for the two Toa.
Procks promptly entered, closely followed by Onuix. Once inside, they found out that they were in a room with black walls, and some tiles in the roof were fluorescent, and lit the room. There was a single door that was craved out of the same black material as the rest of the ship. They opened it, and a bolt of fire flew straight to them, knocking Procks to the ground. A dark blue figure emerged from the corridor, only to meet the taste of one of Prock’s Cordak bullets. The walls of the corridor were in flames, and when the smoke cleared, Onuix expected to see a mass of broken circuits and burnt flesh. However, instead, the blue figure continued there, unharmed.
From behind it, two more beings appeared. One was a Toa of Fire, wearing a Hau and carrying a chainsaw. The other was a Skakdi, who seemed to be rather bored. The Toa of Fire stepped, and grabbed Procks by the neck. Onuix tried to intervene, but he was struck down by a swipe from the blue being’s spiked mace.
“Where are the barrels?”
“Where are the Matoran?”
The Toa, instead of pressing harder, augmented the temperature of his hand, making Procks scream.
“Do not dare to play with me.”
The Toa dropped Procks, and turned his attention to Onuix.
“We asked for Avdermis. Have not you brought it?”
Instead of responding, Onuix made the Toa of Fire fly straight to the roof of the room. He deatached his protectorate shield from his arm, and blocked a blow from the Skakdi. He then used his Nenex to switch his shield for one of the Skakdi’s swords, and engaged him in a swordfight. However, he felt a hand grabbing his back, and when he looked back, he saw the blue-armored being. Onuix kicked the Skakdi in the chest, but when he turned to face the other being, it released a wave of powerful kinetic energy, sending him spiraling to the other side of the room, loosing his sense due to the impact.
Everything was black. Onuix had opened his eyes, but he just saw blackness. He tried to move his arm to touch his mask, but he was trapped by some sort of energy webs. He turned his head, but still he saw nothing. He rolled on the floor, and stopped when he came in contact with something. It was metallic, probably made of protodermis. He tried to raise the object with his gravity powers, but those didn’t come to his aid. He then rolled over the object, which, to Onuix’s surprise, yelled.
“What are you doing! You may be short but not lightweight!”
After hearing this, Onuix knew that it was Procks.
“I have an idea that will allow us to escape, Procks. I will change your bonds for mines using my mask, so I will be able to sneak out.”
“Are you crazy? You might cut my hands off in the process.”
Both heard a clicking noise, and then the corridor in front of their cell lit up.
“Crazy, I don’t know, but you two are very annoying.”
Procks recognized him as the Skakdi.
“What do you want from us?”
“You know it. Now I have to leave, for I have better things to do. But don’t worry, you two won’t be alone. Raggar is coming to interrogate you. If I were you, stonehead, I wouldn’t annoy her with your jokes. She may make you swallow your own Kanohi if you talk in that ironic tone you have.”
The Skakdi left, and Raggar, the blue being carrying a spiked mace, entered the cell.
“Welcome to our ship, Toa. I am Raggar, and the Skakdi that just talked to you was Kerannax. The Toa of Fire that is traveling with us is Kranraon.”
Onuix signaled Procks that he would be the one to talk.
“Why have you attacked us and captured us? We’ve brought what you asked.”
“Liar! You haven’t brought the Avdermis with you. If you had, you would be dead now, and we would have renewed our journey.”
“We could give it to you without any fight, and then both would make our way to our respective destinations.”
“It doesn’t work this way, Toa. Nobody has to know of our existence. If we let you go, you would reveal our identity. But stop making questions, Toa of Gravity, because it’s my turn. Where is the Avdermis?”
“It’s inside our shuttle,” Said Procks in a challenging tone “And you can’t open it.”
“How are you so sure, stonehead? We can just tear the door apart.”
“There is a security system, and when we close the door from the outside, any attempts from opening it that are not made with our hands result in the shuttle exploding. As I said, you can’t open it.”
Rage increased in Raggar, and she grabbed Procks by the neck. She pinned him to a wall, and her face was so close to his that Procks could see the sharp teeth that filled Raggar’s mandibles.
“If what I need are your hands” she said “I will cut them off.”
“That won’t be enough. The order of opening has to be given by our own voice.”
Raggar punched him in the stomach, and let the Toa of Stone in the floor. Kranraon had arrived a few moments ago, and had heard the conversation.
“We will bring them to the shuttle, so they can open the door. And when they are done, I myself will cut their heads off, and throw them to the Silver Sea.”
A part of the outside walls of the black ship shifted, and transformed into a small boat, in which the three warriors and the two Toa travelled. The Protectorate Shuttle was nearby, and the possibilities of surviving for the Toa decreased every meter they advanced.
For a moment, Procks though about sinking their boat with a pillar of Stone, but discarded the idea, as Raggar was a member of Carapar’s species, and knew well how to swim and fight underwater.
Maybe there still was a chance… but they had to be quick.
They soon arrived to the Shuttle, and started to climb it. When they arrived at the top door, Kranraon grabbed procks by his left arm.
“Don’t try to do anything stupid.”
Procks put his right hand on the door, Kranraon still grabbing him hard.
“Open.”
The door slid aside, and Procks, before anyone could react, threw Kranraon inside, making him crash with the stairs bellow. He then activated his Opinox, making Kerannax and Raggar impossible to attack Onuix. Then both Toa entered the ship, closing the door behind them.
Once inside, they saw that Kranraon was gone. Procks went to the storage room, only to find Kranraon searching for the barrels of Avdermis. Onuix tried to stop him by lowering the gravity around him, but Procks had another idea. He grabbed a Cordak blaster, and fired all his Cordak bullets at the room, and then he threw himself to the ground.
Onuix wanted to take cover too when he realized what Procks was doing. One of the Cordak bullets hit the ammunition drawer, in which Procks had his hand grenades, and caused a great explosion. Kranraon flew through the air crashing against the machinery in the cabin of the shuttle. Enraged, Kranraon activated his buzz-saw, and charged at the other two Toa.
Procks went to see if the barrels were in their place, while Onuix dealt with Kranraon. He entered the storage room, only to find that Raggar and Kerannax had the barrels, and were exiting through a hole in the roof of the Shuttle.
The Toa of Stone sent a hail of stones at the two, making them fall to the ground. Raggar soon raised, and attacked Procks with her spiked mace. He dodged, and created several stone fists, which punched her hard. The blue being did nothing, and when Procks’ attack was over, she jumped in the air, and touched his shoulder with her hand. She then released the absorbed kinetic energy, nearly dislocating his right arm.
Onuix turned a moment to see what was happening in the storage room, and fired a bolt of Gravity energy at Raggar, which made her fly straight to the sky. Having lost concentration, Kranraon easily sliced his Protectorate shield in half, and Onuix was then defenseless against the Toa of Fire.
In the storage room, the Skakdi and the Toa of Stone stared each other in the eyes. Procks knew that if they started a close combat, he would surely loose, as he couldn’t fight with his right hand. But he would, and he would face the Skakdi with his Axe, no matter which hand he used.
Kerannax made the first move, striking with his swords. Procks blocked with his Protectorate shield, and the Skakdi then kicked him in the face, sending his Kanohi to the other corner of the room. Procks hit Kerannax with the hilt of his axe, grounding him. The Skakdi rolled in the floor, and then sent a pair of eyebeams at Procks. The Toa of Stone couldn’t dodge them, but at first he didn’t feel anything had happened. But when he looked at Kerannax, he saw that the Skakdi now had eight arms, each one with a sharp sword.
Which was illusion, and which was real? He would have to find out. Procks rammed into the Skakdi, and then stroke one of Kerannax’s illusionary arms with his axe. Kerannax, taking advantage, sliced his swords at Procks, making to gashes in his chest armor. The Toa of Stone fell to the ground, but he still hadn’t ended. He sent a pair of stone bolts flying to Kerannax’s head. The Skakdi managed to destroy one, but the other hit him hard.
Kerannax, enraged grabbed his two swords from the ground, and started to spin them in the air. First his arms looked like a white blur, and then his whole body did. The Skakdi stopped, and jumped aside, Procks did the same, when he realized that he had sent a wave of energy, which was going straight to him. The Toa of Stone rolled on the floor, and watched ast the whole Shuttle was sliced in half. Kerannax grabbed the barrels, and after climbing the walls of the storage room, he jumped into the sea and started swimming. Kranraon did the same, followed by Raggar, who had just fallen into the silver water.
Onuix went to see Onuix, who was unconscious in the ground, and with most of his outside Toa Armor charred. He put his friend in his shoulder and grabbed a broken wooden table. He then jumped to the water, and watched as their shuttle sank.
He then started to swim back to the black ship, hoping to not be seen.
The three warriors, now onboard on their ship, looked at the precious barrels.
“We’ve succeeded.” Kranraon said. “We will now arrive to Metru-Nui, and we will live.”
He raised the two barrels to the air, celebrating their salvation. However, like a realization sometimes is met like cold water, an orange liquid fell onto Kranraon’s Hau, it slipped down its many protodermis filigrees, until it arrived to his mouth. He tasted it, and then he spat it to the floor. It was Avdermis. He looked at the barrels, and saw that they had been damaged during the fight, and leaking their content on the board. Raggar and Kerannax desperately tried to cover the holes with their hands, but they just made them bigger with their claws.
Kranraon fell to his knees, followed by his two companions. They were doomed.
And they didn’t even try to fight back as Procks knocked them out.
The two Toa had trapped the three criminals in the cells of the ship, and powered by Onuix’s gravity powers, the ship slowly made its way through the night in the silver sea, to Metru-Nui.
“I’ll go to talk to Kranraon, Procks, so take command of the ship while I’m out.”
Onuix walked down some corridors, until he arrived at the cells. Onuix sat on a metal chair infront of the cell of the Toa of Fire. There was something in his eyes that told Onuix that something was going wrong, far worse than having lost the fight with them.
“Ok, Kranraon. Now I’m going to ask you some questions.”
“Why have we come here? Why did we want Avdermis? For I’m going to die anyways, I will tell you everything related to that. I can’t loose anything, for my life already is slipping away, just like the Avdermis slipped out of the barrels.
>> We three, originally, lived in an island far away from here. That land is the closest thing that exists to an inferno. It’s the City of the Dead. Lifeless, metallic beings patrol the streets, killing the ones who are not working at a high level. There is no language that can be spoken other than the official. There is no other ideology other than the official. The mere though of rebellion brings a squad of robots to you home, and they reduce you to ashes. Technology is very advanced, but it is just used for the sole propose of torture and destruction.
>> I was once a Ta-Matoran, living my meaningless life, when a companion of mine said that he had found a Toa Stone. I killed him, and took the stone. I was transformed into a Toa, and then I became an insurgent. Posters with my face filled the walls of the city, and I could only find refugee in darkness, for we had been taught that way. Finally, one day, my luck ended, and I was captured. But instead of being dissected alive or having my bowels burnt from the inside, the ruler decided to do something newer, something more fun, so he gave me, Kerannax and Raggar an opportunity.
>> He injected a virus in us, which would kill us if signaled by our ruler. The only land far away enough for us to be out of the scope of the signal was Metru-Nui, and we had to arrive there in a week. The ruler gave us this ship, and we started our voyage. However, the ruler didn’t want us to succeed and had given us not enough combustible. We knew that Avdermis is not currently produced in any part of the universe, but we heard rumors in an industrial island that some sort of Toa Team could help us. So we continued, until we ran out of Avdermis, and called you for help.”
“Don’t worry about the virus, Kranraon. When we arrive to Metru Nui, we will extract it from you.”
“It’s too late. By the time we arrive there, I, and my companions will be dead. And it’s not a sudden death. The agony prolongs for hours, and you die when you don’t have any more energy to continue fighting the pain.”
Onuix looked at the black ground, and sighted. Kranraon continued.
“In a way, you and your friend have killed us. If you hadn’t tried to intervene, if you had just dropped the barrels from your ship, without even having to land… we wouldn’t have had to attack you, and now we would be on Metru-Nui, ready to begin a new live. We were condemned, but you just made it worse.”
“I don’t believe you. And now I’m going out, to drive this ship to Metru-Nui.”
“Beware Toa, for your fates are sealed. Now that you know about the existence of the inferno, and about its king, our ruler, Magneon, you are too condemned. He is already out of his realm, and heading to another land, ready to ravage it. And you will die, just like us, even if you try to stop it.”
Onuix left to the cabin, not wanting to face reality at that moment.
[…] Once our vessel arrived at Metru-Nui, something happened that still burns in my mind. I went to check the prisioners, and I saw that the three had committed suicide. Though it’s not still clear, it’s possible that they strangled themselves with the bars of the cell, as they feared a worse death at the hands of the mysterious virus. However, a later autopsy done by committee formed by Ga-Matoran scientists and Ko-Matoran scholars revealed that a virus had never infected them. Their ruler, that devil called Magneon, had told them a lie, and knowing that they wouldn’t make it to Metru Nui in time, they would kill themselves before waiting for the false virus to affect them. I, in my career as a Toa Protectorate, have never seen so much cruelty in one single individual. This leaves the situation open for […]
After a few minutes, Onuix finished the report. He felt better now, but couldn’t forget Kranraon’s words. He now had to concentrate, for he was going on a dangerous mission with the whole protectorate team, stopping a horde of Mechanical Rahkshi, if he recalled correctly. He left the archives room, and as he walked through the corridors, he told to himself that maybe the ones who died were the ones lucky, as they didn’t see the outcome of the catastrophes. A strange feeling told him that Kranraon was right. Would he be the lucky one?
Known Characters[]
- Onuix
- Procks
- Raggar
- Kranraon
- Kerannax