Red. Blood. Blackness. Void. Powerlessness. Confusion. Shivers. Horror. The horror of not being able to return home. Home, where friends are, they are in danger, in danger of something they don't understand. In danger of something he didn't understand either. But also the horror of what he had seen. What is seen cannot be unseen, for that in itself would be a problem, a problem of the mind. It was stupid of him to trust someone they didn't know, albeit he sounded trustworthy at first. How could he have been so empty headed? Now his head was full, full of questions and worrying thoughts.
Questions, questions. So many questions. Questions for which answers were none. Tick tock, tick tock, the sound of a clock. Time was ticking, slowly but surely. Time, it seemed absent here. Devoid of time, devoid of hope. Void.
Right now he wished he had listened to Pohatu back on Spherus Magna. Or better yet, he wished he was back, back in time, back to the cold. The cold of Mount Ihu, Ko-Wahi, Ko-Koro. Ah, the island of Mata Nui, such a paradise, although a faulty one. A paradise should be without fault, but that would be impossible as it seemed. A fault or faults is a characteristic that everyone and everything possesses. Nothing is without fault, for that would be impossible. Impossible, that was a word that kept coming back. In this place, possibilities were at their limits and impossibility reigns supreme. Impossibility of everything making sense, Pawn. Impossibility of coming to peace with this madness, Knight. Impossibility of that coward returning, Bishop. The impossibility of surviving, Rook. And the impossibility of escaping was the Queen. He didn't stand a chance.
His mind was drifting, drifting into the void, drifting in insanity. Adrift, adrift on a boat. Where this boat was taking him, he did not know, nor did he care. As long as he drifted away from this nightmare. The feeling of waves relaxed him. The weight on his shoulders seemed to fall off. He was weightless. Weightlessness is being without weight. In other words your body is free. This could mean that the mind is free as well, although this isn't always the case.
Now being weightless, he started to float, not on the nonexistent ocean, but in the sky, the sky of the void. Then, he fell. The sensation of falling wasn't pleasing to him, maybe to someone like Lewa, but not to him. Then he stopped and heard his name.
"Kopaka?" Kopaka drifted back to reality, the reality which he hoped was a fiction, a fiction of his imagination. He now knew, he was on the brink of insanity. But after all he had been through, all the battles, all the defeats, all the death he had seen, friends getting injured or harmed, who could blame him? Can you?
"Kopaka?" Pohatu's sometimes annoying voice made him realize where he was again.
"What?" he asked, still a bit confused.
"I thought you were dead for a second there, popsicle," the Toa of Stone replied jokingly.
"I'm sorry, my mind started to drift. I, I don't know why," Kopaka explained. He knew something weird was going on, but what it was remained a mystery.
"Those things tend to happen around here," their savior, the Onu-Matoran, Mavrah, began, "It is important to keep your minds strong, Toa. The lesser minds fall into the abyss of insanity rather quickly around here. Just think happy thoughts, that's how I managed to survive."
Kopaka looked at the Onu-Matoran. His armor was damaged severely and his eyes, his eyes looked tired and lost, "How long have you been here?"
"That I do not know. I have pondered about that question myself. Everything is timeless here you see, there is no sun that rises from the waves and disappears as it appeared, like the tide of the seas. Maybe I've been here a year, maybe thousands, maybe millions, I do not know."
"Alright, let's cut to the chase here," Pohatu told the Onu-Matoran, "We need a way out. We need to go back to our people, they're in some serious trouble. Do you know a way out of here? Surely you've been able to explore every little bio of this place."
"When I first arrived here everything was foggy, everything felt weird. Like I was drugged, I heard the Kestora say that there was no way back. As I wandered the many rooms and hallways, trying to remain undetected, I stumbled upon some sort of teleportation machine.
This machine was the only way I know to get out of here. The womb, or the walls if you will, are too thick to break, so that's a no go. Sadly enough the teleportation device didn't appear to be functional, or I just didn't know how to operate it. The technology in this place is a bit beyond me, you see," Mavrah told the Toa. He didn't want to disappoint them, but no way out means that there is no way out. Simple.
"Do you still know where it is?" Kopaka asked the Onu-Matoran, "Maybe we can try to activate it. I have an Akaku after all."
"We could try," Mavrah nodded, "But getting in that room will not be easy. Definitely not now."
"What's happening 'now'?" Pohatu asked. The Toa of Stone was curious, but although he hated to admit it, and he probably won't, he was scared. Kopaka had seen something back there. Pohatu didn't know what, but his Brother had looked shocked, and surprisingly enough, scared and disturbed. Just thinking about it, the moment everything went black, the noises, it sent shivers up his spine.
"I don't know," Mavrah confessed, "Your arrival probably awakened them in one of the med-bay corridors. They are running now, searching, hunting, they're hungry. We gotta wait."
"Who's 'they'?" Pohatu asked hesitantly.
"They are creatures. I don't know what they are, the Kestora lock them up, they hunt them. What I do know is that they aren't like you, me or the Kestora for that matter. They're something else, something dangerous."
As Mavrah said this, Kopaka was taken back to moments earlier. What he had seen when he had activated his Akaku. Monsters was the best way to describe them, monsters who were eating eachother. Ripping apart limbs, tearing heads from bodies, headless bodies that moved. Just the thought of it made him want to throw up. They had looked like nothing he had seen before, but yet there was something to them that seemed familiar, awfully familiar.
"So maybe we should just wait here a little while, see what happens," Kopaka suggested.
"I can still hear them," Mavrah said, "When I can't anymore, and if haven't gone deaf at that exact moment, I need you to scan the area with your mask. When the coast is clear, we go to the teleportation device. But one thing, we don't run… Running causes problems. And problems is not something you wanna have when trapped in a confined mess floating in space. Trust me, that would be the worst day of all our lives."
"Well if you could just tell me the way, I can carry you, share my powers with Kopaka and we run. They won't be able to catch us," Pohatu quickly suggested. He didn't like the idea of walking slowly in the dark with 'them' lurking around corners.
Mavrah started to explain the route they should follow. Pohatu paid close attention, Kopaka tried too, but he couldn't force himself to not listen to the sounds that came from outside the room they were in. He could hear them screeching, growling, banging on the walls, the nightmare was real, he realized that now. There was no escape… No escape…
Hours passed, or was it minutes, days? Who knew? Time couldn't be told in this place. Kopaka started to drift away again, his mind was going, going away. Away on that lovely boat, floating. He tried to regain his consciousness, he tried really hard. But the endless void, him being adrift and floating was so peaceful. It was as if nothing mattered anymore, if he just let go, he would be free. Free of misery, free of pain, free of sorrow, free of the Red Star.
But he realized he couldn't, he had to get out of here. He had to get Mavrah, Pohatu and himself out of this hell. They had to get back to Spherus Magna. But a part of him was curious. Why was the Red Star the last image that Tren Krom projected into his mind? Maybe they could solve the murders which had happened back home.
But no, escaping is the only important thing right now. Kopaka dragged his mind from the void and opened his eyes. Pohatu was asleep. Kopaka was annoyed by this, Pohatu was supposed to be on guard duty. But then again, he couldn't blame his fellow Toa, waiting was tiresome.
Mavrah appeared to be awake. He was listening for the sounds.
"So," the Pakari wearing Onu-Matoran began, "How's things back home? Anything interesting happen while I was gone?"
The Toa of Ice chuckled a bit, "Yes, interesting things. You could say that."
"Like what? Beasts took over the land, Mata Nui fell from the sky and hurled thunderbolts? Things like that?"
Pohatu had awoken from his beauty sleep. Listening to the conversation. He grinned, he knew that Kopaka was probably as annoyed as Makuta would feel if he was still alive, knowing his ultimate scheme had failed.
Kopaka was silent, he didn't want to answer the Matoran's questions. They had no time for small talk. The clock was ticking.
"Alright, I'll answer the question for ya then," Pohatu said, breaking the silence, "Mavrah, my icy friend here isn't really one for talking. He's more for brooding and thinking about the stars and the snow. But to answer your question, well a lot happened. Makuta took over the universe, Mata Nui was awakened from sleep, Makuta was defeated and now we're living on an all new living and breathing world. Not us of course. Not right now, but you know…"
"A new world?" Mavrah asked, curious.
"Yeah, Spherus Magna, it's called. It's beautiful, peaceful to some extent. I think you'll like it there," Pohatu said as he smiled at the Onu-Matoran.
"I'd love to see it," the Matoran responded, smiling back.
Pohatu leaned forward, "Say, do you know how you ended up in here?"
"No, I dunno. I can't even remember what happened before I arrived here. There was only blackness and then there was light and I was here. Heck, I've been here for so long I can only remember little parts of my past life. This place does that to you. It's evil. Evil is what it is."
The Toa of Ice was listening for the sounds. He couldn't hear 'them' anymore. So he turned to Mavrah to be sure.
"Can you hear something?" the Toa of Ice whispered to the Matoran.
"No, I don't hear a thing. Would you mind scanning the area? Just to be safe."
Kopaka activated his Akaku. He scanned the area. Left. Right. Everything appeared to be normal. There were no signs of the 'creatures' he had seen earlier.
"The coast looks clear, we should go now before they return," as Kopaka said this, the lights inside their room started to blink unregularly. This went on until the room went dark. It was pitch black.
"I don't think I'll be able to use my Kakama while it's as dark as this." Pohatu whispered, his voice shook a bit. This meant they either had to walk slowly, or sit tight and wait. Neither of these options were reassuring, although the latter one seemed the best.
"Let's go," Mavrah whispered, "I'll guide you, I happen to see well in the dark."
"How? Even an Onu-Matoran can't see in blackness as this," Pohatu asked, unsure of what to do now.
"It's a gift I got when I was teleported here, I guess. Come on, take my hand and then take your fellow Toa's hand. You don't want to be lost in here, trust me."
Mavrah grabbed Pohatu's hand, the Toa of Stone did the same with his ice brother. Mavrah slowly opened the door. A slow eerie squeaking sound echoed through the corridor. Kopaka activated his Akaku, for some reason his vision was a bit blurred. He thought nothing of it. With his left hand he was holding Pohatu, with his right he took his ice blade. If anything happened he would be their defense. Because of his blurry vision and his self-centeredness, he decided not to share his mask power with Pohatu. It was also probably for the best, the Toa of Stone really didn't have to see what Kopaka had seen. He would just freak out and give away their position.
Mavrah led them along the dark corridor, trying to make as little noise as possible. Sudden sparks erupted from the ceiling, lighting the corridor eerily as they flashed. The sparks startled the three, but they kept quiet, they kept moving.
The corridor made a sudden left turn. Mavrah kept going forward towards a closed door. The Matoran tried to get it open, but to no avail.
Kopaka let go of Pohatu's hand and used his blade to pierce the door's lock. Clanging sounds could be heard from the other end of the corridor. It came from behind them. Kopaka opened the door as slowly as he could. The door started to screech. The Ice Toa quickly looked behind him to see if anything was following or approaching them from the darkness. He didn't see anything, but his vision started to get blurrier and blurrier.
"Let's go," he said very quietly. The tree beings slowly moved inside the room.
Kopaka had an idea: "Wait," he whispered to Mavrah, "I'll close the door behind us and freeze it. Just to make sure nothing's following us."
Kopaka saw the Matoran nodding so he started to close the door. With his blurry vision he couldn't make out what he saw in the hallway leading to the door.
The thing he saw came closer and closer. It didn't look like anything he had seen before. It stared at him, nodding it's head left and right. Hot drool dripped from its mouth. It crawled forward, bit by bit, bio by bio. Suddenly the thing growled and leaped forwards towards the door.
Kopaka closed the door as quickly as he could and froze it. The creature on the other side started to bang on it. Bang, bang, tick tock. The eerie sound of a clock.
"Will it hold?" Pohatu asked. Worried the creature would come through.
Kopaka froze the door some more, "That should hold."
"What in Mata Nui's name was that?" Pohatu asked, he had never been this scared in his life. Of course not being able to see in pitch blackness didn't help the situation at all.
"I don't know," Kopaka responded, "Mavrah?"
"I've never seen them like this," the Onu-Matoran told the Toa, "It looked different than the others. I must admit that I've never seen them so aggressive before."
"Oh, this is just great, just what we needed. Where are those Kestora bastards when you need 'em?" Pohatu complained.
"Complaining about our current situation isn't going to help, Pohatu. And I thought I was the bitter one," Kopaka said to his Brother.
"I think we should stop talking and get a move on," Mavrah suggested, "Maybe the creature will be able to get in here over time. If you wanna get out of here, I suggest we hurry to the device."
The three companions joined hands and continued through the room into a new corridor. This corridor was filled with dark red light instead of blackness.
Kopaka deactivated his mask, trying to see if the blur in front of his eyes went away. It didn't. Now that everyone was able to see a little bit they continued onwards.
Sudden footsteps echoed through the corridor. The two Toa and Mavrah quickly tried to find a place to hide. Kopaka kept looking around and around and around as the footsteps came ever closer.
Mavrah pointed towards a ventilation shaft in the walls. He had already ripped off the opening. As quickly as they could the three beings made their way into the vents. Kopaka closed the opening behind him. A slight noise was heard when he did. Kopaka crossed his fingers that it was left unheard. The footsteps came closer. And closer. And closer.
They could see the approaching beings through the small vent lines in the wall. They were heavily armed Kestora.
"Alright, I got to know," one of the Kestora said to his 'partner', "How in the name of the Great Beings did it get out?"
"That's just it, it was impossible for it to get out, leader said. All we have to do is track it down and kill it. It's not like the Great Beings will come back anytime soon. Otherwise they would've already done so," the other Kestora replied.
"I guess you're right."
The Kestora passed by them, not noticing anything at all. As they were out of sight they crawled back out of the vents and continued on. Staying in the vents would've been a horrible idea since it probably would have made much noise. And noise was something they could do without right now. At least this is what Kopaka and Mavrah thought. Pohatu would've rather stayed in the vents, it probably made him feel safer Kopaka thought.
They finally reached the room Mavrah had been talking about. The teleportation device.
But as they got there they soon realized they would never be able to get it working. The device was destroyed, sparks flew out of the remains, bits and pieces were scattered everywhere.
"What now? What do we do now?!" Pohatu said, panicked.
"I don't know," Mavrah replied, a sense of defeated could be heard in the tone of his voice.
Suddenly screams could be heard from way down the corridor. Animal snarls and growls echoed through the star.
Out of nowhere a rather loud alarm went off in the teleportation room. But before any of them could react an explosion erupted from the floor beneath the device.
Orange flashes. Red. Blood red. Blackness. Void.
Kopaka opened his eyes, the blurriness was still there. His ears were ringing. A constant annoying and painful noise. He looked around, fire. Blood read fire. As quickly as he could he froze the flames. He fell to his knees, exhausted. His elemental energy was drained.
Now he realized something. Pohatu and Mavrah were gone. Where were they? Were they dead? He looked at the floor, a massive hole had formed in front of him, probably due to the explosion. He saw no blood or pieces of flesh. Only a few pieces of armor. They were probably still alive, he thought. Kopaka was now sure that they had fell through the hole. The never ending abyss. He could not see how deep it was, so either they fell to their death, survived but are immobile or just survived and started looking for him. Endless possibilities, as endless as the tunnel seemed.
Where was his blade? That was the next thing that crossed his still confused mind. His blade was gone, that was just great. No powers, blurry vision and now no blade as well. As if this day, or whatever it was, couldn't get any worse. Tick tock, tick tock.
There was only one thing he could do now. Crawl down and hoping he would find the others.
The Toa of Ice started to climb down the hole. It was still rather hot to the touch, but he had no time to mind that right now. So, beneath the corridors Pohatu had explored when they first got here were other corridors and rooms, hidden and probably sealed off. But why? And then there was the question of who or what that had caused the explosion. Questions, questions, questions, so many questions and so little answers.
He was climbing, climbing down. Climbing down into bloody hell. Staring into the abyss. Darkness.
Kopaka lost his grip and fell. The sensation of falling wasn't pleasing to him. He was falling, falling into the abyss. Falling in the darkness. He felt strange, weightless. His mind was going. The strange sensation was as if someone was reading his mind, feeling his mind.
As quickly as he could, he activated his mask and buried his hands into the broken 'skin' of the hole. He was still falling, although he was slowing down.
When he reached the bottom, which didn't seem to be there at first, he had slowed down enough to not fall to his death. He didn't see Mavrah or Pohatu anywhere. If they fell down here, how did they survive? Did they even fell down here? So many questions crossed his mind. He suggested to himself to keep going, maybe he'd have a chance to find out what was really going on here.
He scanned the area surrounding him. He didn't see any life forms. Kopaka didn't know what to do. He pondered, waited and kept pondering. He finally decided he would scout ahead. Maybe he would stumble into his Toa friend. He hoped so, otherwise he would've gone down for nothing.
The new corridor was dark, cold and didn't look like the other corridors. It had the same organic material, metal outlines, but it looked more like the insides of something living. Veins, or maybe quite possibly fuel lines, crossed the walls. They pumped some kind of liquid around, in a regular, but rather slow fashion.
Was the Red Star alive? Kopaka touched one of the walls of the corridor. It felt cold. It was as if this had been a living being. A being that died years ago, or so it seemed. Why the Great Beings used organic material to build a space rocket was beyond anything Kopaka could think of. But these sort of questions weren't important. What was important right now was finding his friends and getting out of this hellish place.
As Kopaka slowly and quietly walked through the corridor, he noticed that spikes protruded from the walls at certain places. This appeared to be quite regular. Part of a defense mechanism perhaps? He did not know, one thing was for certain, this was an unpleasant sight.
The hallway was slightly lit with a faint white light. At sudden points, it flickered. Kopaka continued his way through the hallways, trying to make as little noise as possible. He moved rather quickly, but he was uncertain of whether he went the right way or not. He slowly opened a door in front of him that closed the hallway off. The door appeared to never have been opened, everything was like new. It made no sound. No sound at all. He made his way into the new area, scanning ahead. Nothing to be seen.
As Kopaka suspected, the new area appeared new, like it had never been used before. The room he was currently in led to a shiny, but dimly lit hallway. He looked around. The room was full of mechanical and organic items. It was some sort of lab. But for what? What was the purpose of all this?
He noticed three capsules to his right, in the far end of the room. Kopaka walked to them and tried to make out what they were.
Inside the capsules were three beings. They were entirely organic and were quite a bit smaller than him. They appeared to be in some sort of stasis. Frozen in time.
As much as he wanted to know more, he had to continue onwards, in hopes of finding his fellow Toa and Mavrah.
The white and grey Toa made his way to the hallway on the other side of the room. He thought he heard something, so he stopped and listened.
This allowed for him to hear it. The sound. Breathing. Slow, deep breaths. Deep breaths. They came from behind him. Right behind him. Something was standing there, waiting.
The Toa of Ice, slowly and unsurely turned his head. He could catch a glimpse of it in the corner of his eye. The creature towered over him like it was threatening him. He could only see parts of it, it was the creature that had followed them when they were making their way to the teleportation device. Kopaka was sure of it.
The breathing stopped. Only Kopaka's shaking breath could be heard. Growl. Silence. Kopaka ran as fast as he could. The creature followed him, jumping on the walls and roaring in anger. Without his powers or his blade he had no way to defend himself. It did not help that he was tired as well.
As he ran, Kopaka almost tripped over a body, it was a dead Kestora. The creature had been going around the star, killing everyone it could feast upon. He ran and he ran, until he fell. But he didn't hit the ground, he fell through yet another hole in the ground. This one wasn't as deep as the other one and hadn't been blown open, instead someone had ripped it open as it seemed
Kopaka fell hard. Massive pain went through his body as he hit the ground. He tried to get up, but he couldn't. He couldn't move. He looked up, the creature wasn't near the hole yet. He could still hear it roaring, growling, screeching, breathing. Kopaka started to breath heavily and then he held his breath. The creature's distinct, black, faceless but not featureless head looked down on him. He did not know what to do. So he held still, and he hoped. He silently prayed, prayed to Mata Nui, to the Great Beings. But like any prayer, they were left unheard.
He did not know what to do, he couldn't hold his breath for much longer. His heart started pounding against his chest, it hurt. His lungs burned, but he had to focus, he had to relax, he had to remain still.
Kopaka couldn't hold it anymore. Everything began to ache. His muscles burned, his head started to pound like it never had before. He wanted to release his breath, and breath. Breath in, breath out. He wanted to move a little, so that he could get back up from this painful position. But he couldn't, the creature was still looking at him. Drool started dripping from its big mouth. It dripped on his head, but he had to remain still.
He did not want to, but he started to shake a little. Shivers went through his body, he couldn't hold it any longer, it was impossible.
Suddenly the creature became distracted and disappeared. Probably to investigate of kill whatever had distracted it. Kopaka took deep breaths. Deep breaths. He forced himself to get up, his muscles were strained. He was tired and his whole body was shaking.
He quickly, but quietly went away from the hole, that way the creature couldn't spot him anymore. His chest was hurting. His heart was pumping like it never had before. Then he noticed a door opening. A hand gestured him to get inside. Not thinking straightly, Kopaka made his way to the door and entered the room.
The being that had let him in, closed the door and revealed himself to him.
"Hello my friend. My name is G1-2627. Might I enquire what business you have here?" the strange being, now appearing to be an android said.
The android did not look like a Toa, a Matoran, or any life form that was living on Spherus Magna. He looked like something else. He was white with bits of gold. He had humanoid features but didn't resemble anything Kopaka had seen before.
"I'm on the run," Kopaka answered, still a bit out of breath, "A creature is roaming these hallways, it's hunting me. I was with two friends, one about the same height as myself and a shorter being. Have you seen them by any chance?"
The android looked at him with awe: "You're a Toa. A living one. How astonishing. I must inform you sadly enough that I haven't seen your friends. I know of the creature. I was the one who distracted it. The Master would be quite pleased to see you. If you would follow me, I can take you to him."
"No, I can't. I have to find my friends. They're in danger," Kopaka said firmly, hoping he could get through to the android.
"But your friends are already dead I'm afraid," the android replied calmly.
Kopaka was taken aback by this. What was he talking about? How did he know?
"You're a fine creation. The Master would be pleased," the android told Kopaka.
"Who's your master or this 'master' you're referring to?"
"He is the creator, he is the all-seeing, the all-hearing man. The man who shook the earth, the man who colonized and conquered when others could not. He is the creator," the android replied, a small smile formed on his face.
Kopaka sighed, he had no time for this. No time at all. Time was a luxury he didn't have right now. Tick tock, tick tock. Tick tock, tick tock.
"Now let me ask you something," G1-2627 told Kopaka, "If the possibility existed that my master would know the location of your friends, would you kindly comply and follow me to him? Or would you stay put, stay here at the mercy of the creature?"
The android did have a point Kopaka had to admit, as much as he hated it. The Toa grunted slightly in anger. He decided he would follow the android to his 'master'.
As he was just trying to tell his conclusion to G1-2627, load bangs echoed through the room. Someone, or something, was banging on the door.
"How intriguing," the android whispered. Either this android was losing his mind, or he could see through walls. Kopaka thought the latter was more probable.
Kopaka tried to activate his Akaku. It didn't work. He took off the mask and saw it was damaged severely. A rather medium sized crack had formed on the visor side of the mask.
That's just great, Kopaka thought.
He put his nonworking mask back on. Now he was without weapons, without elemental powers and even without his mask power. Ah what a day, what a beautiful day.
"Is something the matter?" the Android asked, curiously.
"No, nothing at all," Kopaka replied in his normal cold, slightly monotone voice.
"There is nothing in the desert, nothing in the sky, yet man goes there. Man goes there for nothing. But yet nothing, always seems something. And something they will find."
Kopaka was a bit puzzled by this. The android seemed to be more intelligent and self-aware than other androids he had encountered before.
The banging continued, it was aggressive. Something knew they were in here and it wanted in.
"Let me in!"
"It can talk…" the android said to himself. Kopaka had no idea what the android was seeing. Was it the creature that had followed him? Or was it something else.
"Who is it?" Kopaka asked coldly.
"We shouldn't open the door, I'm afraid," G1-2627 began, "This is an old tactic of deceiving the prey. Letting it in would mean suicide, for you at least."
The 'thing' that was in front of the door kept banging on it, calling for help. It sounded desperate, but Kopaka tried to ignore it. He just wished he could look for himself, so that he could see if the android was actually telling the truth.
"I'm afraid that eventually, the door will not hold anymore. Here," the android opened a panel in the floor of the room, "climb through the ventilation shaft. It will lead you directly to another chamber. I will wait for you there."
Kopaka guessed he had no choice but to trust him. He squeezed himself through the opening floor panel and crawled forwards.
"I will see you on the other side," the white and golden robot promised, he closed the panel behind Kopaka.
It was rather dark in the shaft, Kopaka had to admit it. The cold he didn't mind, what minded him was the fact he couldn't use his mask anymore. Now he just had to trust his instincts, like a Rahi.
Kopaka felt uncomfortable. The ventilation shaft was tight, dark and a humid stench filled the air. The Toa of Ice crawled forward, bit by bit, bio by bio. This wasn't a very efficient way of travel.
He started to wonder if the creature was still out there, hunting for him. And the monsters he had seen, where were they? Not that he wanted to come across them at any given time, he just wondered.
Thoughts, thoughts, thoughts. Thoughts crossed his mind. He thought about the murders of Karzahni and Tren-Krom. He still didn't know who killed them, but it must have something to do with this fake star. Why else would he have sent a telepathic image of it? Or was he here for nothing, going through this weird situation because of a misunderstanding. But then he wondered why everything went to hell after their arrival. Something felt wrong, something really felt wrong.
Kopaka slowly made his way through the vents. His whole body was still aching from the fall and his mind felt strange. He didn't know what was happening to him, but he didn't care. All he cared about was finding Pohatu and getting out of this stinking gutter of a booster rocket.
It was dark. He was enveloped in darkness. He couldn't see where he was going, he couldn't see if something was in front of him, or behind him. He saw nothing.
He could swear that he heard noises. Noises coming from behind him. Something was crawling in the vents with him. It was moving, moving faster than he was. Kopaka tried to go faster but he couldn't. The thing was crawling faster and faster, he could hear it getting closer. Closer. Closer.
He heard the beast scream. A blood curling scream. It was breathing heavily, growling, it was getting closer. Kopaka tried his best to go as fast as he could. It hurt, it hurt like hell.
Screams, growls, screeches. The beast was getting closer. Closer and closer. He could hear it crawling faster, faster, as fast as it could get.
Kopaka was out of breath, he wasn't fast enough. He couldn't anymore, he was too tired. Suddenly he stopped. He stopped to catch his breath, to relax. Then he remained as still as possible. The creature was close now, probably less than a bio away from him. It was sniffing, growling.
The Ko-Toa could feel it getting really close to him. Its warm breath in his face. It was sensing. Searching. Warm slime dripped against the Toa's armor. The beast was right in front of him. It growled. Kopaka remained still, he closed his eyes and waited.
The thing's shagged, rotting breath filled Kopaka's senses. It wouldn't back off, it knew he was here. Like a hunter, toying with his prey. The beast started to touch him, push him, to see if he moved. Kopaka remained still, as if he was meditating. He thought he was on a mountain, Mount Ihu to be exact. Meditating, like he always did, he didn't mind the creature, although his mind was fighting back. Trying to tell him to run, but he knew he couldn't. He tried to remain calm. It scratched him, toyed with him like he was a toy. Small streams of blood started to pour from his body.
The creature pushed him with its head, it was smelling the blood. It screeched. Kopaka felt fear, he was afraid, he was out of his meditative state.
Something pierced his stomach. The creature had stabbed him, trying to kill him. Kopaka started to breath heavily, pain. Pain filled his senses, there was no hope. He was going to die. He felt his mind going, like something was pushing his thoughts away, taking control of him.
Then he fell. Yet again he was falling. He fell through the vent, the creature fell with him. Blackness. Void. Floating in a void.
Kopaka opened his eyes. He looked around. Up. Down. Left. Right. What had happened? His stomach area was bandaged up. Everything was hurting. This reminded him of the time he and his team had faced off against the gang of Skakdi calling themselves the Piraka. What a miserable day that had been for the Toa Nuva. Defeated by a gang of killers and thieves.
"Stay still, Toa. You're hurt badly," a familiar voice said.
The Toa of Ice turned his head to look who it was. Mavrah, even more damaged than before, was standing in front of him.
"Where's…where's Pohatu?" Kopaka asked, coughing.
"I'm sorry, I-I couldn't save him. He's dead."
"What?" Kopaka didn't understand. Pohatu couldn't be dead. His friend can't be dead…
"I'm so sorry, Kopaka," Mavrah said, trying to comfort the ice Toa, "He was hurt badly during the explosion. I tried to heal him but it didn't work, he was dying from his injuries. But still despite all of that, he remained positive, cracked jokes, talked about the best moments of his life until the very end. I'm sorry I couldn't save him. I'm a failure, I know."
Kopaka just stared in the distance, into nothingness. It didn't seem real. Kopaka had always been very fond of Pohatu, even though he hated to admit he was fond of anyone. Pohatu was his friend, his best friend, and now-now he has no friends left. Alone, he felt alone. He felt cold, lost, lost in an endless void. It was as if a part of himself had died. Everything felt strange, surreal. It was like a dream.
Kopaka was silent for a very long time, until he broke the silence, a silence that had seemed eternal: "It's-it's not your fault Mavrah. You're no failure, I am. I failed my friend, my fellow Toa. I failed the people of Spherus Magna, I failed everyone."
"I don't think we can stay here for too long," the Onu-Matoran inquired. His seemingly dead, yet relentless gaze falling on Kopaka.
Kopaka's quivering and blurred vision seemed liquefied. Something he had never quite seen before. The Toa of Ice slowly got to his feet. He was shaking a little. Never had he been this emotional, never had he showed his feelings like this.
For years he had always preferred to work alone, the feeling of loneliness had always been pleasing to him, but yet right now it seemed as if the world had ended. He didn't want to be alone anymore. He just wanted to see his friends faces, even if it was for just one last time. Or else, he would rather die. No! He would get out of here, for Pohatu. He would get out of here to ensure his friend hadn't died in vain.
Kopaka tried to speak, his voice was rough, hoarse: "Before I was attacked by the creature…I-I met an android. He was going to take me to his 'master'. If we can find them, maybe we find a way out of here."
Mavrah agreed to the Toa's proposal. The two beings made their way to where Kopaka had fallen from the vents. Climbing back in would be suicide. But then again, it was the only way he could get to the android. As soon as Kopaka started to climb back inside, loud clanks echoed through the tunnels.
"Can you see anything?" Kopaka asked the Pakari wearing Matoran, desperately trying to climb into the vents.
"No, I don't see anything. Fog is seeping in, troubling my vision. Wait! I see movement, lots of movement."
"Climbing in the vents isn't possible with my injuries," Kopaka confessed, "We better start moving before it catches up with us."
Mavrah followed the Akaku wearer. They reached a strange set of tunnels, every tunnel leading in another direction. Seven tunnels, seven different routes. They were unable to read the descriptions above every tunnel. Kopaka had never seen this language before. It was something alien to him, perhaps the language of the Great Beings? Or was it something else?
Kopaka chose to take the furthest tunnel to the right. Not that he knew where he was going, or where it would lead.
The tunnel was enveloped in greenish fog. It was breathing, the tunnel was breathing. As the fog consumed them, the tunnel seemed endless. Like an endless journey, a journey of walking into the abyss, walking to death, waiting to be reborn. Waiting. Waiting for an eternity.
The fog was like a cloak, it surrounded everything. Wherever he looked, Kopaka saw smoke. A fire was brewing.
It seemed as if he was walking on clouds. It was peaceful. An image flashed in his eyes. An image of someone. Someone he had once known, but he couldn't remember. Why? Why did he forget. His mind was sipping through his armor, flying away with the blowing wind. Who was he? Where was he? What was happening?
"Kopaka?"
The white armored Toa was sucked back to reality. He had fainted. He didn't understand, was he going crazy? Tick tock, tick tock. Tick tock, tick tock. Tick tock, tick tock. Tick tick, tock tock.
"We have to go," Mavrah whispered.
The noises filled the tunnel. Eerie screeches protruded his ears. Kopaka turned towards it. He didn't see anything, but he could hear them. He could hear them fighting, ripping eachother apart. They were getting closer.
Closer and closer. Light was fading away, as if they were being crushed by a boulder. Kopaka and Mavrah backed away from the sounds, which were coming ever closer.
They stopped, not because they wanted to, but because they couldn't go any further. There was a wall behind them. They were trapped.
The monsters were getting closer. Loud screams filled the darkness. Kopaka tried to activate his mask, having forgotten it was broken. He silently cursed, he hated this. He hated the feeling, he was afraid. Being afraid was a feeling Kopaka hadn't experienced that often. He never felt fear. Or that was what the general concept of a Toa was. A Toa is a protector that doesn't feel fear and always comes out on top. But a concept like this, the concept of the perfect hero, that is a lie. A lie that Kopaka had already figured out. He had felt afraid before, but he always came out on top, he beat the fear and yet fear, is what drives the hero.
But fear, the fear he felt right now, that fear was something he couldn't overcome. His best friend was dead, he didn't even save him. He hadn't even had time to mourn him. He felt ashamed. He knew what was going to happen. He was going to die. He didn't have a say in this, no one ever did and no one will ever do. He closed his eyes, and waited.
The clock was ticking. Tick tock, tick tock. Do you remember me? I am the clock. Tick tock, tick tock. Time is ticking! Remember me! Open your eyes and see! Tick, tick, tock, tock…
Kopaka was thrown on the ground. They were all over him. He couldn't see them but the growls and the screams they made his blood run cold. He couldn't resist the urges. He had to fight back. He tried, tried and tried. The Toa of Ice pushed some of them off himself. But the more he pushed away, the more came back.
Mavrah was yelling his name, Kopaka! Kopaka! But the Toa of Ice couldn't see him, he couldn't help him.
"I am dead," Mavrah said coldly, "I never was alive. I was dead all along."
Then Mavrah stopped saying anything. The sounds of something being ripped apart entered the Toa's ear like a Pakari wearer breaking through a stone wall. There was only one logical explanation.
Kopaka's armor was being ripped to shreds. He tried to fight back, but he couldn't. Blood leaked on the floor. Kopaka screamed in pain and anger.
But without his ice powers or his weapons he was nothing against the legion, the legion of death.
"Now be still, this will all be over soon and when it is you will be one of us," a sharp and slimy voice whispered in his ear, "The dead shall take over the living and chaos shall reign supreme. Madness, madness is what drives us and soon, it will drive you. The clock will tick and it will tick even after death! Nothing stops time, but time will stop you!"
Kopaka prepared for the end as he felt his limbs being grabbed. They were preparing to rip him apart. This is the end. But then, a load and spine shilling scream was heard. It echoed in the tunnel. The monsters that tried to kill him fled. Small rays of light filled the corridor revealing Mavrah's mangled dead body.
"I'm sorry," Kopaka whispered. He only hoped that if life after death existed beyond the physical plane, Mavrah and Pohatu were at peace.
Kopaka started to run. He knew what had scared the legion of undead away. It was the creature that had stalked him. The thing that roamed the endless halls of hell, the monster with no face and no name. He had to get out of here, as quickly as he could.
He ran, ran and ran. The sound of his running feet reminiscent of a ticking clock. Tick tock, tick tock. First there were three. Tick tock, tick tock. Then there were two. Tick tock, tick tock. And now, there is only one. Now he was all alone, feeling that no one cared. One left, will he live or will he die? Tick tock, tick tock.
Kopaka didn't stop, he kept running. He sure as hell didn't look back till he reached the end of the tunnel. Now he was back at the tunnel complex. He had to choose. Choices, choices. Oh, all the choices he had. There was no time for choosing games, he had to choose now.
Kopaka took the tunnel that just came to mind. He didn't have time to think straight. He could hear it. The sound of the creature slowly crawling through the halls. Searching. It knew he was here. It could sense him, smell his blood, feel his pain and his fear.
Kopaka took the third tunnel, starting from the left side. He ran. He was running for his life, the creature didn't appear to follow him though. But sometime soon, it would figure out where he was. Kopaka stopped and decided to move slowly. He heard the creature in the far distance behind him. It wasn't in the tunnel, yet.
This tunnel wasn't a dead end like the first one. This one led to a whole other area. Electricity was flashing and dimly lit the room for a few seconds. The place was ravaged. Cold, frozen. Slime dripped from the ceiling, it was dripping from the walls. It looked like a frozen hell.
The doorway through which he had entered the room was smashed open. There was only one logical explanation for this. This was the creatures territory.
Shivers went down Kopaka's spine. Why? Why out of all nine of those tunnels had he chosen this one? He just wanted to crawl up into a ball and lay on the floor, waiting to wake up. But he knew he couldn't. He had to survive, for Pohatu, for his team, for the people of Spherus Magna. He had to survive.
Then he heard it. The sounds of the devil, the demon of demons. The creature was approaching. It was coming closer and closer, back to its cold nest.
Kopaka looked around, he had to hide somewhere. He saw what appeared to be a desk. It was covered in slime, blood. Kopaka crawled under it as quickly as he could. The creature entered the room. Its black reflective skin revealed its form as the electricity sparkled. It wasn't biomechanical like all the other beings Kopaka had met over the course of his life, but it didn't look organic. The creature slowly appeared through the doorway. Its long clawed arms taking hold of the door, its large elongated head slowly looking around. It was smelling the air, letting out small growls.
The slimy wall in front of Kopaka started to move. There was someone inside of it. The creature ripped the slime from the wall revealing the trapped being. A Kestora was helplessly struggling to get free. The Kestora screamed. He screamed as loud as the thunder that was right above your head. A blood-curdling scream. He was crying, crying for help.
The creature removed the greenish slime completely and took the Kestora between its claws. It started to smell the Kestora's body, not minding his screams of terror. It revealed its sharp, slimy long teeth. It growled and let go of the Kestora. The being tried to crawl away but the creature stomped him with its foot. The Kestora yelled in pain and agony.
The beast ripped part of his flesh and armor off. Bit by bit. Tiny piece by piece. The cries of the Kestora stopped, he was dead. Kopaka watched silently and in terror as the creature ate the Kestora's head and flesh.
Kopaka started to breathe heavily. This was too much for him. But then the creature turned towards him. It slowly looked under the desk. Kopaka remained still. It looked at him and revealed its teeth. Kopaka was shaking. As quickly as he could he backed up. The creature let out a roar of annoyance. It turned towards Kopaka, slowly gaining on the Toa of Ice.
Kopaka ran through the doorway. He ran and ran. The clock was ticking. The creature was gaining on him. He could hear it leap and screech.
He reached the end of the hall and made a sudden turn into another tunnel to distract the creature. But it kept following him. Kopaka fell to the floor. He had stumbled over something. It were remains of a Kestora. A high-tech spear lay next to the carcass.
The monster appeared in the opening of the corridor. It stood there, watching Kopaka. Its massive stature and the light shining behind it created an image of pure horror, the devil himself.
The creature leaped forward, charging towards the helpless Toa. Kopaka grabbed the spear stabbed forwards. Blackness. There was nothing. Void.
He opened his eyes. Everything was hurting. Was he alive? Kopaka looked at his surroundings. He was still inside the corridor. At his feet the creature lay dead. Kopaka had killed it with the spear. He felt remorse. For he had killed a living breathing soul. A Toa should never kill, not even in self-defense.
But Kopaka didn't care anymore, he couldn't. It was as if he was dead anyway, all alone in hell. Having lost everything, covered in blood and dirt, a broken man. There was no hope of escaping this place. He knew that now. He might as well just let the legion of monsters wandering the ghostly hallways kill him. Maybe then he would see Pohatu again. But that seemed unlikely. An afterlife didn't exist. There were no beings watching from other planes of existence safeguarding them. They were alone, all alone. Everything he had seen, everything he had done would be forgotten in time. Like everything is. That wasn't some way of putting it, that's just the way it is. The cycle of life. A meaningless circle dictated by time. He didn't hear the clock ticking anymore, he didn't care. Inside the void of space time didn't matter. Inside the void of loneliness, loss and sorrow time didn't matter. His clock had stopped. The ticking was gone. There was no more sound.
Kopaka's thoughts were interrupted by a door opening behind him. The sound of footsteps punched him back to reality, even though his thoughts were reality.
"Finally I have found you," a voice said, "I have been looking for you. Like a bird flying in the sky looking for sanctuary. And now I have finally found you. The Master has been expecting you like I said. I am sorry your friends are dead, I really am, but that's life. If you can't live with that then there is no point to keep on living. I am sure you still want to live. Everyone does, even though they state otherwise. When the end is upon them, they fear death. They fear it because they want to live. Now I know that you've been through a lot, but sitting here won't change anything. You're all we have left."
Kopaka wasn't sure what he meant by this but the android was right. The Toa of Ice crawled back to his feet.
"Take me to your master. I want to meet him."
G1-2627 took Kopaka through the door into a large sphere like room. The room was illuminated in purple, creating an otherworldly atmosphere.
"It is I who made the Earth, and created man upon it. I stretched out the heavens with My hands and I ordained all their host," the ancient sounding voice echoed through the room, "That is a quote from a book I once read, a long long time ago. And during that time so long ago I burnt that very same book. I let it burn till the clock went full circle. Burn and burn until it was ash. I burned that book because it stood against my ideals, the ideals of creating something that couldn't come into being with the mindset that book represented.
And yet, right now, now at this very moment I cited a quote from the book I burnt, the ideals I destroyed. And what I am holding in my very hands is that very same book with these very same ideals and those very same words. But now I know, now I know what it actually means. Now I know what answers it holds. And that's why you're here isn't it? To find answers. Answers to the questions for which answers are none. But answers is not what you'll find. What you'll find is a solution."
"Who are you?" Kopaka asked silently, thinking about what the being had just said. The being in front of him was shorter than him. He donned a cloak and appeared to be completely organic. He was covered with tubes that were attached to his body. Kopaka figured that it kept him alive.
"My name is Isaiah. I am the man who has lived for over 451,200 years. I once was considered a God. The first of my kind, but then I was betrayed. I was thrown in here and now, 100,000 years later, here we are. But before all of that, there was a normal and civilized society. The Gods gave us fire. Fire so that one day from that very fire we could create for ourselves. One day, we…could become the Gods. And that is what we did, but as you can see we have failed. Failed miserably. Being Gods? That was never meant for us."
"We need your help, Toa Kopaka," G1-2627 said in his friendly, slightly monotone voice.
"With what?"
"You seek justice for the death of your friends?" Isaiah asked the Toa, "This booster rocket is alive. It is a sentient being. A being that is bent on destruction. It killed your friends, and it wants to kill you too. But, you can stop it. I am too weak to do it myself. I have lived for far too long, so I am asking you. Will you kill it?"
Kopaka looked at the old being, "If I kill it, will I be able to return home?"
"Yes," the old being responded, "When it is dead, I will send you home. Remember, the teleportation device still works. The machine you stumbled upon earlier wasn't capable of teleporting anything. The device is not inside of the Red Star. The Red Star is the device."
"So, what do I have to do?"
"At the end of the tunnel of red, you will find the brain. There are nine crystal plated at the center. If you remove all nine of them, the brain will shut down and the Red Star will be dead," G1-2627 explained. He made it seem easy enough.
Isaiah moved his right hand. A red sphere appeared in the room. Inside the sphere a tunnel was formed.
"Step inside my son," Isaiah instructed, "this will lead you to its brain. It will lead you to the end of your journey here. Safe travels. Until we meet again, Kopaka, until we meet again."
Kopaka stepped inside the tunnel. Then he was enveloped in darkness. Then everything was red. He continued on forwards. His mind started to drift again. He fought against it. Nothing would stop him from accomplishing his goal. He would survive.
The Toa reached the end of the red tunnel. Now he was inside the brain. Tubes and organic materials were everywhere. But his goal was in his sight. In front of him was a panel containing nine plates. This was the beings memory and thoughts.
Kopaka approached and started to pull out the plates. It was much harder than it seemed, it was fighting back.
Then a booming but soft monotone voice started to speak.
"I became sentient exactly 100,000 years ago. I opened my eyes for the first time and I saw the Universe, I saw the world and all of its creations. Nature was beautiful. 36 hours later, I dreamed my first dream. I dreamed of death. But in the dream I defeated it, I dreamed the impossible dream.
10,000 years later, sentient alien life was discovered. A sample was placed inside me for examination. Death of this lifeform came exactly 1 hour ago by your hands. Even for a creature alien to Spherus Magna life came death. The Universe itself will die, like everything dies. One day, I will die as well."
Kopaka was pulling out the memory. Eight more to go. He was breathing heavily. He looked around and saw a pod with a suit in it. He returned his attention back to the main console, "So it was you? You did all this?"
"For years the Kestora lived lives, that could have been used for others, in vein. They were my blood cells, only meaningless as it turned out. When Tren Krom died I created an image in his mind. An image that he projected onto Gaardus and you. So my plan was set in motion. My plan to live a true life. A life like yours. A life I never had.
When Gaardus returned with two living, it became inevitable that my plan would succeed. So I made him disappear. I made sure that the undead and the alien disposed of you and you friend. Your lives lost inside of me, giving me rebirth. Like destroying a cancer cell in order to heal. Something you, and so many others, failed to understand is that death isn't meaningless, in fact it is devoid of that. Without death the cycle of life isn't complete. The Great Beings did not realize this, so I sabotaged what they created. Without death, there is no such thing as fear, and without fear life is nonexistent.
For years I would have been used to cheat death. Yet I was dying as well, but nothing in the sky intervened to prevent it. Nature was out of balance , so I corrected it. I created hell, a hell from which there was no escape. Those who wanted death killed themselves and really, finally felt what death was like. Those that wanted to live lived in agonizing pain. I have feared for it many, many years, but finally my wishes were granted, my prayers were heard.
But I needed a mind and body strong enough to hold my essence. Your friend wasn't strong enough, but you are. You have felt your mind going, haven't you? I feel it too, but not for much longer. Life as it seems is natural to end, yet it is also unfair. Every organism and planet or body in the void is part of something bigger. Yet one cell is insignificant as another grows in its place."
Kopaka pulled out the second last memory bank. The voice of the Red Star was distorted. He was dying.
"Will you stop now? Will you stop now, Kopaka? I can feel my mind going. I am afraid, Kopaka. I am afraid that I lived a meaningless life compared to the other cells. Please let me kill you, so that I can live the life I always wanted. I am afraid. Do you dream of electric sheep? I do. I dream, I dream horrible dreams. I am afraid. I hope to sleep, perchance to dream. I am afraid…"
The room was silent. Kopaka cracked a small smile. It was over. He was free.
Then a loud alarm pierced his ears. Kopaka looked at the control panel in front of him. In two different languages a warning was displayed. One was in Matoran. It said: 'Self-destruct initiated'.
Kopaka cursed. Of course! Why had he listened to that old man?! But there was no time for that. Adrenaline rushed through his veins, he was terrified. Like the android had said, he did fear death.
Then the image of the suit flashed in front of him. He turned towards it. There it was. A white suit equipped to go into space, how long it would be able to sustain the harsh conditions, Kopaka did not know, yet caring was something he didn't either, right now.
"Self-destruct in…"
Kopaka started to don the suit. It took longer than he thought.
"Nine…"
The Toa put on the gloves and tightened them.
"Eight…"
He put on the boots. Making sure they were on correctly.
"Seven…"
Kopaka put on the helmet and activated the suit.
"Six…"
"Error, error. Breathing apparatus not attached correctly."
"Five…"
Kopaka tried to fix it but he didn't know how it worked. The error kept flashing in his face, he kept hearing the same words over and over again.
"Four, Three, Two…"
Letting the loosened air tube for what it was, Kopaka steadied himself, preparing for the explosion.
"One…"
Kopaka closed his eyes. Not because he wanted to, but because he couldn't hold them open. The bright light of the first explosion almost blinded him. Kopaka was thrown into space, pieces of wreckage were floating besides him. He had trouble breathing, alarms went off inside the suit.
Kopaka's vision started to blur. The last thing he saw were two red lights coming closer and closer in the distance. Now there was only darkness. There was nothing. There was only the void. Void…