The toothpick soared out over the glittering waters, caught the light of the sun for the briefest of moments, hung in the air for one glorious instant, and then fell into the sea with an unglamorous pa-chunk. Semeka plucked another from the bag tied around her waist and began to work it through her teeth.
Behind her, the forest-green Skakdi could hear the bustle of the ship's crew shouting orders back and forth in some attempt to make themselves look busy. She snorted. The wind was at their back, the sea was as calm as ever, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky – the crew could have been passed-out drunk (and were on most voyages, going by the complaints their captain had let loose after a few drinks herself) and the ship still probably would have found its way down the island chain without any trouble.
But this time they had passengers, and most passengers took umbrage with crewmembers reliving last night's dinner on the deck, so the Vortixx crew behind her was putting on as best a show they could. It was actually kind of sad – at least one of them was hiding behind the barrels to starboard, apparently unwilling to risk standing lest he immediately topple over, and another had yet to realize that someone (she) had cut the metal clasps off his excuse of a uniform, which was now so much cloth flapping in the wind. (She had seen him bragging to one of her fellow passengers about his myriad lovers in ports the world over, and while she supposed it was possible, the fact that Tassa down at the docks had kicked his little metal ass every time he so much as looked at her funny suggested to her that the last time he'd slept with anything other than a blanket it had been a rat underneath Xia's south side tunnel.)
Semeka flicked the toothpick over the railing to join its brother. She really couldn't care less if her gracious hosts spent half the voyage drinking their way to glory (in fact, it might let her put a few new low-cost mixed drinks to the test), but her fellow passengers seemed to be enjoying the show. One, a broad-shouldered Toa of Earth, had joined in what little work there was, insisting that it was his duty to share in the labors of the voyage, and a tall, ruby-red female from some species Semeka couldn't identify was seated in a deck chair, fanning herself and gaily shouting encouragement to the workers. Semeka had struck up a conversation in the hopes that she'd turn out to be a conwoman just playing her marks and had been mildly horrified to discover that the rich traveling socialite out of her depth was in fact just that. She'd put good money on little miss traveler being swept off her feet by their Earthy friend sometime in the next two weeks; she could only hope they'd slip and fall over the railing in the process.
Someone off to her left coughed. She glanced down; a stocky young Po-Matoran looked back up at her, a calm smile on his face. A tattered scarf was wrapped around one neck, and at his side he carried a large, scuffed satchel. "Pleasant weather, isn't it?"
She shrugged. "It doesn't hurt to breathe, so it's already got one up over Xia."
He laughed. "I haven't been to Xia myself, actually. I can't say it sounds very pleasant."
"Congrats, you've grasped a basic fact of life," she muttered, and plucked another toothpick out of her pouch.
For a while they stood there looking out over the sea, the hum of the waves and the occasional squawking laugh of their oblivious traveling partner behind them breaking the silence.
"So tell me," he finally said, "what brings you onto this little trip?"
"My business."
"And that is?"
"None'a yours."
The Matoran smiled again. "That's a bit cold."
She shrugged. "Don't take it personally. I got enough on my mind without having to explain it to a ragtag bunch of misfits who I'll never see again once I step off this tub."
"Well, can I at least ask where you're going? We might have a common destination."
She glanced over at the Matoran again. His smile was unchanged. She turned to face him, flicking the toothpick away and in the process giving her eyes a chance to size him up without being too obvious about it. A knife holster was tucked away beneath the satchel; her money was on a sculptor's tool rather than a merc's blade. It'd take him a good five seconds to get that thing out, and nobody looking for trouble put themselves at that much of a disadvantage.
No guarantee, but probably safe enough. "Essens."
He considered it for a moment. "Essens, huh? Haven't been there either. But that's a troublesome spot, isn't it? Lot of Barraki power struggles in the area, they say."
"Mighty well-informed, aren't we?"
He smiled and waved the question away. "Well. You pick up on these things."
She regarded him for a few seconds more, and then pulled out another toothpick. "Rahkshi crap. Spill it."
His eyes widened. "I'm sorry?"
"I said spill it. You as much picked up on that little tidbit as I picked up on the fact Teatelus was knocking over bars in my part of town and he had me marked for his next hit. There's things you hear, and then there's things you live. So spill it."
A hint of honesty crept into the Matoran's smile. "You're quite perceptive."
"I'm a bartender."
He shrugged, and turned away. "Fine, though there's not much to say. I used to live on an island a few hundred kio south of here. It was a fine little place. Our village was a mixed group of Matoran – a few Ga, a few Po, one or two Fe and Su. We even had our own Toa for a while."
"And then?"
He smiled. "And then the Barraki came. I don't think you need to hear more."
She watched his eyes closely. There was more to the story, sure as the sun above them, but it was the kind of more that wasn't coming out without the help of either the very expensive drinks she'd left in the bar or some kind of confront-your-past situation that would probably wind up with a few corpses strewn about. She shrugged and turned away. Even on a ship she always got the dramatic cases.
There was not-quite-silence for a while longer. Behind them, the Onu-Toa rumbled something, and their undefined-species friend let out a trill of laughter. She briefly considered jamming the toothpick into her own ear.
"You still haven't told me why you're going to Essens," the Matoran said.
She shrugged again and dropped the toothpick over the railing. "Because the Barraki are coming. I don't think you need to hear more."
He laughed, and there was a tinge of despair to it. "No. I don't." He turned back towards the deck. "Tell whoever you're warning that if they think they can win, they're wrong."
"That was the plan," she murmured. Now here's hoping that idiot's willing to listen.
There was the squawk of a sea bird, and the boat sailed on.
Hesitation
It was actually kind of fun watching the shoreline panic as they approached. First the Fe-Matoran who apparently had pulled short straw and gotten stuck with sea-watching duty leaned out over the railing of his little wooden tower. Then he reared back, clambered down the ladder (she was amazed he managed not to fall off in the process) and took off running towards the village, waving his arms above his head and – oh for Mata Nui's sake – actually jumping up and down. As they drew closer she could make out most of the Matoran running into their homes and slamming the doors behind them, while a few sprinted off to the east towards the craggy bluffs that dotted the island's far edge. Semeka sighed and pulled out another toothpick.
Their captain, a silver-speckled Vortixx about half a bio taller than her, stepped over to the railing and tapped her shoulder. Semeka cut her off before she could start speaking. "Yes, this is my stop. No, it's not any of your business why it's my stop. Yes, I was aware they were probably going to freak out the moment a Xia-built ship came within a dozen kio. No, I don't anticipate any trouble, but if you insist I'll take a rowboat and go the rest myself. That answer everything?"
The captain cleared her throat in embarrassment. "Yes."
"Fantastic. I do love when people get the point quickly. Now, rowboat, or are we actually making land?"
"We'll make land if they'll have us. You paid for passage out here, after all, and as captain of this ship I intend to see you through."
Semeka turned and gave her a look that they both understood to mean as passenger of this ship, the only reason you're playing the courteous captain card is because I'm paying more to come out here than you would make off a month of cargo runs. The captain smiled back and turned to her crew. "Prepare to make land, men!"
The Skakdi turned back to the sea and peered out towards the island. She could make out a Matoran running back from the mines, two taller figures in tow, and she grinned. Hello, Toa.
As they drew closer to the shore, she stepped back from the railing and out of sight. True, she could probably save everyone involved a lot of trouble by making herself known to her favorite metalhead, but she was curious to see how his island handled sudden, unannounced ships making port. That, and she wanted to be close enough to properly see the look on his face.
They were about half a kio from the docks when a voice rang out from the island. "Halt! Identify yourselves!"
Behind a crate, Semeka worked the toothpick through one of her side teeth. Bit rough, that voice. A little more angry, a little more aggressive than the one she'd been expecting. It was the voice of someone who'd been burnt. Hello Mr. Partner, hope that knife wound's all healed up.
Before the captain could respond, their very own "I-can-handle-anything-because-I'm-a-Toa-ho-ho-ho" Toa of Earth called back, "Brothers! We mean no harm! We're simply a band of travelers each with their own destinations, and we are told this is journey's end for one among us!" Semeka groaned and strangled the air in front of her. Journey's end? Great Spirit, she'd thought Fe-Toa were dramatic. If all Toa of Earth were this bad, she was going to make very, very sure she never took any bounties up in Onu-Metru.
Another voice called back, sharp but not unkind. "Who?"
She smiled. There was the voice she wanted to hear. "A mean drunk and professional killer," she yelled back, "lethal with both bottle and knife, a frequent backstabber, and – how did you put it? – the only person in Xia you could trust." She leaned out from behind the crate just in time to see him drop the pickaxe he'd been carrying.
Now that was a facial expression worth seeing. She waved. "Heya, Jodhan."
The few Matoran that had gathered around the island's two Toa looked more confused than anything else as she disembarked and strode towards the group. Jodhan was still looking at her as though he wasn't quite sure he hadn't gone mad, and the Toa at his side was eyeing her warily through his Sanok. He was a touch shorter and more than a touch stockier than Jodhan, his natural bulk a counterpoint to his partner's smoother, almost streamlined build. She stopped in front of them, crossed her arms, and waited for Jodhan to piece his brain back together enough to make a complete sentence. For a moment she was tempted to yell "Boo!" at the Matoran just to see what would happen, but she had a feeling the fellow with the Sanok would probably tackle her to the ground if she did.
Jodhan finally found his voice. "Semeka – what are you doing here?"
"What," she said, "so down to business? No 'hello's? No 'It's good to see you's? No 'did the bed need any repairs after that last night'?" The Toa at Jodhan's side raised a brow in surprise as Jodhan sputtered something in shock. Okay, maybe that last bit was a bit mean to drop. She put up a hand. "Fine, fine. I'm here to pass along some news and some advice. You got a Turaga around here?"
"No," Jodhan's partner replied. "The two of us are the first Toa this island has ever seen, never mind a Turaga. But there are a few of us who help make the important decisions."
"Round 'em up, then," she chirped back. "I'd like to have a word in private. Ain't no point in making a scene."
"Maybe I will, maybe I won't." The Toa folded his arms. "It seems to me it'd be a lot easier for you to tell us and just have us deliver the message while you get back on that boat of yours."
Jodhan finally found his tongue. "Azak! I told you, we can trust her."
'Bout time I got a name. "Azak, was it? Jodhan told me all about you, and I imagine he told you all about me."
"That he did. Including the part where you made it very clear you had no intention of coming to our island."
She gave him her best look-how-many-teeth-I-have smile. "Then you realize that the news I have might be a touch important. Might be you'd do well to let me tell it on my terms before you try to run me off this chunk'a rock."
He scowled. "And you realize why we might be a little hesitant to let someone step off a Xia steamer and walk into a room with our best and brightest."
"That's enough." Jodhan's voice had turned steely. "Azak. I said we can trust her, and that means we can. Semeka. You know we aren't exactly open to visitors these days. You'll get your chance to talk, but you're going to be following our rules while you do it. Alright?"
She met Azak's eyes; they were suspicious and untrusting. Well, look at that, she thought, a Toa who might have a lick of common sense. "Alright," she chirped back. "But time is, as they say, a-wastin'."
"Fine," muttered Azak. "Jodhan, you keep an eye on her. I'll gather Kychell and the others at my hut." As he turned to leave, Semeka caught the glance that the two Toa exchanged. I'm trusting you to have my back. She rolled her eyes.
As Azak and the Matoran began to walk off towards the village, there was a cough from behind her, and she turned to see the ship's captain standing on the ramp leading down to the docks. "Is our business concluded?" she asked.
She nodded. "Might be this'll take a few days, Captain. You carry on with your little voyage. I'll catch the next trading barge that comes by."
The captain nodded to her and then to Jodhan. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Toa's hand twitch just the slightest. On the boat's deck, a few of her fellow travelers were waving goodbye; she nodded back and caught the eye of the Po-Matoran smiling his chiseled smile. Make him understand.
She gritted her teeth and turned away to see Jodhan looking her over, and she felt a grin come to her face in spite of herself. "Sorry if I'm not up to scratch, handsome. They say we Skakdi only get better with age, but there's only so much I can do in a year."
"That's, er-" he coughed. "It's just good to see you again, Semeka."
"All of me?" she teased back. His eyes started to widen, and she put up a hand before he could go into full sputtering mode. "Relax, Jodhan. Seems to me you took these little teases a lot more lightly before you showed me how a Toa tangoes. But it's good to see you too."
The Toa relaxed. "Guess I'm still just a bit shocked that you're even here at all." His face fell. "But - why are you here?"
"Didn't I just say? I got news and advice to go with it that I figure you lot ought to hear."
"What kind of news?"
She smirked. "Bad news, what else? Come on. Let's go sit down with that friend of yours and these Matoran of his. We can play catch-up once you've heard my piece."
"…Alright." He offered an arm to her.
He- oh, Great Beings, he's serious. Sighing, she brushed past him. "Don't get too noble on me, Jodhan. Remember, I've seen how you can drink."
She could hear the smile in his voice as he turned to follow. "Some would consider that a point of pride, Semeka."
"Who said I don't?"
He laughed, and she smiled again. I missed this idiot.
Azak's hut was spacious and open, with a front porch that overlooked the village leading into what some of Xia's finer establishments might have called a "parlor" (she wasn't sure, doing anything she could to avoid said finer establishments) where a plain wooden table sat surrounded by chairs. Off to one side she could see the Toa's bedroom; the bed within was massive and sturdy, the kind of thing that could stay comfortable (or at least tolerable) for months on end.
Azak sat at the head of the parlor's table, and three Fe-Matoran had already taken their seats around the edges. Semeka plopped herself down into the nearest empty chair and waved cheerily to the others; two of the Matoran looked away awkwardly, but the last stared unflinchingly at her through his Akaku.
Azak rapped a fist on the table. "I'm sorry to call you all together so suddenly, but we've received an unexpected guest today. Jodhan, would you introduce her?"
She opened her mouth to respond, but she felt Jodhan's hand on her arm. She rolled her eyes again. Their rules, right.
"My friends, this is Semeka of Xia – you've heard me mention her name before. When I travelled there a year ago, she was the one who helped me track down the Vortixx who attacked us. If it hadn't been for her help, I would probably have wound up dead in some back alley." Semeka watched as Jodhan spoke; the Matoran with the Akaku was unmoving, even as the others showed surprise and then understanding. At the far end of the table, she saw Azak squeezing the table edge with one hand.
"Semeka," Jodhan continued, "we don't have much of a formal leader, but these three have never steered us wrong. Kychell "–he gestured to the black-and-silver Akaku-wearer–"handles all trade decisions for the village. Aeru"–a grayer Hau-wearer–"is a superb fisher and gatherer. Pyk"–the last, a black-flecked bark-brown Miru-wearer–"heads up our mining operations." The three Matoran murmured greetings, and she nodded back.
"You say you have news for us, Semeka." Azak's voice was hard and direct. "Might we hear it?"
She caught the look of frustration that passed across Jodhan's face and made a note to find a bottle of alcohol somewhere on the island and sit him down with it. "Fine," she said. "I'll make it simple. Barraki are having a few power struggles lately. Your little island's right on the border between Pridak's territory and Takadox's. It also has a whole lot of iron. Starting to see where this is going?"
Pyk swallowed. "You're saying they might- they could-"
"I'm saying that I'd put a few thousand clacks down on one army or another sweeping up on your shore sometime in, say, the next month or two and finishing what the Vortixx started. That clear enough?"
Pyk flinched, and Azak leaned forward. "I would ask you not to be so flippant, Skakdi."
"This isn't flippant, this is talking straight, Toa. I ain't pretending this is any sweeter just because you got a knife in the gut last time someone decided they wanted a few iron ingots off you lot."
"Semeka!" Jodhan's voice was sharp. "There's no need to-"
"There damn well is a need, Jodhan," she spat back. She sure as Karzahni hadn't crossed an ocean just to be told to sugar-coat things. "If a Barraki decides he wants your little island, you're going to get a lot worse than a comatose Toa and some dead Matoran. I'd like to impress that point very clearly upon you all."
Pyk and Aeru let out murmurs of dismay, and Azak looked ready to launch himself across the table then and there. Jodhan was staring daggers at her, and she glared back. Life ain't sweet, Toa. I thought you knew that by now.
"If I may?" Kychell's voice was cool and commanding. "Jodhan did always say you were a bit rough around the edges, Semeka. Azak, Pyk, Aeru, calm yourselves. We all lost things that day. I would rather we focus on preventing it happening again than spend our time being offended."
"Finally," she muttered, "someone with a lick of sense."
Kychell ignored the jab. "Let's take your words as true for the moment-"
"-Which they are-"
"-Let's take them as true. What would you have us do? Prepare ourselves for war?"
"Are you kidding?" She snorted. "I came to tell you all to turn tail and run."
Azak's fist slammed down on the table. "I've had enough of this. If you have no other purpose than to mock us-"
In a single smooth motion, she drew a knife from her belt and drove it into the table next to the Fe-Toa's hand. "Listen, Toa, I don't care how hard you slam the table, I am going to say my piece, and if you shut your trap for a minute, you might realize I actually have something worth listening to."
"You think you can threaten-"
A bronze-gray hand grabbed her wrist. "Both of you, that is enough." Jodhan's voice had an edge of command to it that she hardly recognized. "If neither of you can handle this discussion, then you will leave it to me. Semeka: are you asking us, as an island, to just up and leave?"
"Assuming you don't want to be Barraki bait."
The Toa put his other hand to his face for a moment and took a deep breath. "The warning is appreciated, but I don't think you understand quite how much you're asking of us. This is, and always has been, our home."
"And we don't–" Azak spat the word – "intend to give it up just because some Xian comes and tells us to. Is that clear?"
Aeru nodded. "Azak is right. This place is all we have – we can't just abandon it because there might be some danger coming in the future."
Semeka felt a snarl of frustration building up in her throat. "You really don't get it, do you, little Matoran? The world doesn't run by the rules of your nice little island. It's going to come a-knockin', and believe me when I say a pair of Toa isn't enough to beat it back."
"Semeka–" Jodhan began-
"Enough." Kychell's voice was unmoved. "I believe the important point has been made, and frankly I don't trust this meeting to go on another ten minutes without someone resorting to physical violence. Aeru, Pyk, if you have no further opinions, feel free to head on home, but it may be best not to spread word about this. Jodhan, Azak, Semeka – I think we all need some time to cool down. Shall we meet again tomorrow? It is growing late, after all, and it seems we could all use an opportunity to think things over."
"Fine," muttered Azak, "but a night's rest isn't going to make her any less crazy."
"Real charmer, ain'tcha, Azak?" Semeka pulled the knife from the table and tucked it away. "You and I should chat sometime. I get a lot of idiots coming through my bar, but I ain't ever seen one who didn't learn his lesson from getting jumped in a back alley."
"Semeka!" There was a rare anger in Jodhan's voice. "Stop. The warning is appreciated, but right now I need you to just stop." He looked over at Azak. "Azak and I need to talk. My home is at the north end of town, near the path out to the mines. Kychell, could you show her the way?"
Kychell nodded, and Semeka shrugged. "Fine. I'll make myself comfortable 'till you can get something through that cast-iron skull."
"Get out of my house," Azak muttered, one hand gripping the table. Semeka gave a mocking bow, then turned and strode out to the porch.
Night had fallen upon the island, and down the beat dirt path she could see dozens of huts lit by torch and candle dotting the road. Most of the homes seemed to be works of wood, with steel supports lining them from top to bottom. Compared to the concrete-and-metal monoliths of Xia, it was downright quaint.
"It's quite the village, isn't it?" Kychell stepped up beside her. "It's simple, but… appropriate."
She shrugged. "I always heard most Matoran settlements outside of Metru Nui were old-fashioned, but that doesn't make it any less weird to see. You people even get electricity?"
"We've got a generator or two out by the mines that we bought a few decades back, but to be honest we hardly use them. We make do, though."
"Sounds like a very charmed life."
"Well," he said with a smile, "that's not always a good thing. It doesn't seem to last very long against un-charmed people, for one."
"You got that right," she muttered, and pulled a toothpick from her satchel. "So, I take it you got the point I was making back there? It'd be nice to know someone in that room did."
"The point was made, don't worry about that. Azak is highly protective of this place, is all. And he has his reasons for not trusting people from Xia, as you're well aware." The Matoran gestured up the path. "Come on. Jodhan's place is down this way."
She gave a curt nod, and the two set off. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted a gray-green Fe-Matoran watching her warily from his home's window, and she sighed. "That little Vortixx pirate crew really did a number on you lot, didn't it?"
"More than most of us like to admit, I think. In the past we got the occasional traders who wouldn't hold up their ends of the bargains, but what Senn and her crew did was… well, it seems a little lenient to call it 'unforgivable'."
"Jodhan gave me the rundown last time we met. How many did you lose?"
"Nine of us were killed, mostly miners. Pyk was almost one of them, but the old foreman managed to get him out of sight before going back for others. We found his body at the bottom of shaft number 3 the day after."
"And Pyk wound up with the big job?" She flicked the toothpick from one tooth to another. "Figures. He did seem a bit out of his depth back there."
"We've all had some trouble adjusting. Azak and Jodhan took it the hardest, as I imagine you've realized."
"M-hm. Takes a lot to get an island Toa into a place like my little bar. Having an answer that needs findin'll make a man do crazy things." On their left, they passed a watch tower, and Semeka didn't need to look up to know the guard there was peering over the edge at her.
"We all owe you our thanks, by the way. Jodhan is a good spirit, but when he set off for Xia I don't think any of us believed he'd be "back within the month", as he put it. It's good someone was looking out for him, even if it's someone like you."
She chuckled. "And what does that mean, little Matoran?"
The three eyepieces of the Akaku glinted as they passed one of the torches marking the way to the mines. "It means that as things stand, I doubt you're going to get more than a fifth of us convinced that you're worth listening to. Jodhan talked about you a lot, but I made a point of listening to what he didn't say about you. I imagine that knife of yours gets used for plenty more than carving or cooking."
"Either would make for a nice change of pace."
"Case in point."
They walked on in silence a while longer. In time, they reached a hut that, like Azak's, was just a hint larger than the others scattered around the island. Out front, a torch was burning brightly; Kychell nodded to it. "The last person coming back from the mines for the night lights the torch if Jodhan's out. Just our little way of making his life easier."
"Sounds like you all respect those two an awful lot."
Kychell shrugged. "Toa will be Toa, Matoran will be Matoran. I'm sure you've heard how it goes."
"I've heard, I've heard." She flicked the toothpick into the torch's flame. "Thanks for the tour. Guess I'll just help myself to any drink our mutual friend has stowed away."
The Matoran laughed. "Sorry, but as far as I know it's been a good two years since we've had anything stronger than water on the island. Jodhan and Azak swore off the stuff after they woke up in a tree. That was on fire. It was an interesting night."
"Sounds like a good night to me," she replied with a grin. "Mind if I ask you one last thing?"
"And that is?"
"Jodhan. Azak. What do you really think of them?"
The Matoran considered it for a moment, and Semeka caught a glint of acuity in the eye not covered by the Akaku's lenses. "I think they're doing the best they can, for two Matoran who got the Toa job by chance."
"And?"
He smirked. "And I think that might not be good enough. Good night, Semeka. I'm looking forward to speaking with you again tomorrow."
She nodded. "Likewise, Kychell."
The Matoran turned and started back off down the path, and Semeka plucked out another toothpick.
She was halfway through reassembling the protosteel crossbow she'd found on Jodhan's bedside table when she heard him step into the home. "Semeka?" he called.
"Over here, Jodhan," she called back, not taking her eyes off the weapon. So this pin goes here, and the main shaft snaps in this way…
"You know, I did offer to let you keep that," he said. She looked up; the Toa was tired as could be, she could tell, but there was a ghost of a smile on his face.
"True," she said, "but just because I turned you down doesn't mean I'm going to pass up the chance to take a look at how this thing works. Your Great Spirit knows a thing or two about crossbows; he should open up shop somewhere." She patted the space on the bed next to where she was sitting, and he sat himself down wearily.
He sighed. "You really haven't been making things easy, you know."
"Ain't an easy situation. But it's not on me if some Fe-Toa with a head full of rust can't swallow his pride long enough to listen."
He shook his head. "Azak means well, Semeka, he truly does. But-"
"But he's too scared to admit he can't just bury his head in the sand anymore."
"That's not-" the Toa of Iron leaned forward and put his hands to his Ruru in exasperation, and the Skakdi felt a twinge of remorse. "All day you've been asking people to listen to you. Will you listen to me for once?"
She shrugged. "As I recall, that's how we wound up together in the first place. Shoot."
"Azak is a good person, Semeka. But the raid changed him. He'd never been betrayed before, not like that. I tried to tell him the truth – that Senn had never loved him, that it was all a lie – and I still don't know if he really believes me. All I know is that we're the only people he trusts now – maybe the only people he can trust. And there are days when he looks at me and I can't help but wonder if that even includes me anymore."
"Sounds like a real nice guy."
"You don't-" he exhaled in anger and fell silent for a few seconds before continuing. "Tell me, something, Semeka, have you ever had anyone you could trust? On Zakaz, in Xia, was there anyone you could ever look to and not have to worry about a knife in the back?"
She snorted. "'Course I have. I've got you, haven't I?"
"Don't- fine. But you've never had a family? Not just one or two friends you could trust, but a whole people you knew had your back, because that was the way it had always been?"
"Do I look like I'm about to start wearing Kanohi and praising big man MN, Jodhan?"
"Then you don't understand," he said. "In Xia, you were right to tell me I was naïve, that I shouldn't have been so trusting of you from the get-go. Maybe if we were all a little more suspicious it'd be safer, I don't know. But that's just not who we are." He stood and grabbed her arm. "Come here and look."
She said nothing as he led her to one of the hut's windows. Off down the road, she could see the twinkling lights of the village shining out of the darkness. His voice was soft. "As long as I can remember, it's been the same. Night falls, we light up the torches, and we can be sure that when we wake up in the morning everything'll be right where it was the night before.
"When Azak and I became Toa, we were worried that it would change things too much – that we would be outsiders, that people would look to us more as warriors than as friends. But that didn't happen. All that changed was that we were given the strength to protect our home."
Oh, thought Semeka. Oh, Karzahni take it, now I get it. "Azak blames himself for the raid, doesn't he."
"I don't know," Jodhan murmured. "I think he does. And that's why you scare him so much. You waltz in here and tell us that we're about to be attacked by something that makes a Vortixx pirate crew look like an ill-tempered Ussal, and you tell us the only way for us to survive is to throw this all away? You may as well have been telling him to give up on being a Toa."
She groaned. "I was afraid it was something like that. Nothing walls someone up faster than a mix of fear and pride."
"I tried to explain to him that you mean well, but he isn't hearing it. I don't know if he thinks we can win if we stay and fight, or if he just doesn't want to believe you, or-" the Fe-Toa sighed and put a hand to his face again. "Great Spirit, I just don't know."
"You want me to go have a word with him?"
"No. Just wait until tomorrow, alright? I think– I hope Azak will start to see reason if he has some time to think on things."
The two fell silent, still gazing out the window at the village in the distance. Eventually, Jodhan sighed. "Still, thank you."
"For coming and dropping a bombshell right in your old buddy's lap? Yeah, it was pretty nice of me."
"Oh, knock it off," he said. "I mean it – thank you. Kychell told me traders have been muttering that the Barraki might be having a few skirmishes again, but I don't think any of us realized how close it was to our back door."
"Yeah, well," she muttered, "someone had to come and light a fire under your stupid metal asses."
"Eloquent as ever," he said with a smile. "And Semeka?"
She turned and met the kiss, grabbing his shoulder as she did. When they broke apart, she was grinning. "Was that supposed to surprise me?"
His smile was bashful. "I was kind of hoping it would."
"Come on. Overlooking a village lit only by the moon and a few torches, a heart-to-heart followed by a big dramatic 'thank-you'… you're an open book, Jodhan." She lifted a finger to his chin. "It's a good thing you're so much fun to read."
"That was a horrible pun."
"Shut up. You look like you're about to fall over, and I'm not in much better shape myself. I crossed a damn ocean to deliver this little message; I better at least get a good night's rest with you for my trouble."
"Sounds like a fair deal to me."
She stretched and looked back at the Toa, still sound asleep beneath the covers. Truth be told, it had been a bit of an adventure worming out of his embrace without waking him up. Do all Fe-Toa have such an iron grip, she wondered, or does he just not get the difference between 'hug' and 'squeeze the life out of'? Still, she smiled. It had been too long since she had shared a bed without it being preceded (and often followed) by a very strenuous workout. She'd try and make this quick enough that she could slip back in for an hour or two before dawn.
The path back to the other end of the village was barer than she would have liked – a few trees would have given her more than enough cover – but the night was still and silent, and the only Matoran she glimpsed on her trek was the guard up in his tower, staring blearily out at the horizon.
She wasn't surprised to see there was still a light shining in Azak's hut, nor was she surprised when he opened the door as she approached, a protosteel club in his off hand. "That's far enough, Skakdi."
"Came to have a few words, Azak."
"Then say them."
"I'd prefer to do it in private, if it's all the same to you."
He frowned. "Then leave the knife outside."
She sighed. "Fine, if it makes you feel better." She lazily pulled the knife from its leg sheath and tossed it aside.
"And the other three."
"My, you Fe-Toa are so intrusive sometimes." A few blades later, she crossed her arms and grinned at the Toa. "Now, mind if we get down to business?"
He stood back and gestured for her to step inside, watching her warily. With the practiced grace of someone who's learned how to pack disrespect into something as simple as walking across a room and sitting down at the table, she walked across the room and sat down at the table, then pulled out a toothpick for good measure. Azak followed and sat himself across from her.
"So," she said. "Where to begin?"
"Spare me the pleasantries, Skakdi."
"Fine," she said. "Truth be told, I've used up my sarcasm quota for the day, so we may as well get down to business." She worked the toothpick up and down. "Let me impress two things on you."
"And those are?"
"One: every word I said earlier was true. The Barraki are coming, and if you lot don't leave, they'll happily run you all into the ground."
He glowered. "I don't think you're the one to decide that."
"Two," she went on, "I am not someone you should piss off. Senn learned that the hard way." She saw the Toa's eyes go wide at the mention of the Vortixx's name, and smiled. "I'm sure Jodhan told you she died. Did he tell you how-"
"You murdered her." The Toa's voice was flat. "Knife to the neck."
Semeka raised a brow. "Well, color me surprised. I didn't think Jodhan was the type to give all the grisly details."
"He didn't tell the villagers that much. But he told me everything he could. Thought I deserved the truth. And you know something?" The Fe-Toa was speaking through clenched teeth. "I still don't know why in the Great Spirit's name he fell for a backstabbing mercenary."
"I lent him a hand, he gave me the benefit of the doubt. He seemed a charming enough Toa, and I must have seemed a charming enough Skakdi."
"Save it," he spat back. "I don't care if Jodhan trusts you – he's a good Toa and a good friend, and also some days the biggest idiot I know. I don't buy for a second that you decided to come warn us out of the goodness of your heart. I want to know what your game is, Skakdi."
She chortled. "So suspicious, so suspicious. You know, you could have been this straightforward at the meeting, and we probably could've saved ourselves a lot of headache."
"I'm waiting for an answer."
Semeka watched him in silence for a few seconds. One hand of his was gripping the table again, and he was staring her down with an intensity that almost, but wasn't quite, hatred. Angry and doesn't know how to handle it, she concluded. If he walked into the bar I'd put a hundred clacks on him starting a fight before the night was up. Time to poke him and see what happens.
She pulled the toothpick from her mouth. "Lemme give you two stories. You tell me which one you think is true." He opened his mouth to object, but she raised a hand and plowed on. "Option one. You said earlier that Jodhan was a good Toa and a good friend. I knew he had a good heart the minute he stepped through my bar's front door, which meant that he was out of his depth. I stuck with him first out of curiosity and then out of respect and then because I just plain liked him. Where I come from, people are more focused on getting one over each other than on ever doing anything real, and Jodhan was a reminder that there are still good people out there, even if the world does its damndest to pull them down. I came to warn you all because I care about him, and by extension that means keeping an eye out on you lot.
"Option two. Our little escapades turned some heads. Senn was a fairly big name around town, you know. A vigilante Toa and a Skakdi merc giving her what she had coming made some waves. A few interested parties did a little research into how the whole deal got started, and found out that, my, that Toa came from a very resource-rich little island, and my, wouldn't it be useful to have all that iron at one's disposal. But nobody wants to get their hands bloody with a big ol' assault – massacres are expensive, after all. So they pay a visit to the Toa's Skakdi friend and offer her a deal: get the natives off the island peacefully, and her cut'll be more than enough to let her give up the bartending gig and focus on some new avenues."
Azak let out a shaky breath. "I knew it."
"Which one, Azak?"
His eyes narrowed. "Isn't it obvious? Two."
"Really," she said, and worked the toothpick up and down for a while. "Well, no point in denying it. Story two certainly happened."
He stood. "Enough. Don't try anything funny. I'm locking you up until-"
In a flash, she was atop the table and holding a blade to his throat. "Glass knives are a bit harder to sense, aren't they, Toa? Now I want you to stand very still and let me finish talking." She smiled. "Story two certainly happened. And so did story one."
Azak seemed unwilling to breathe, his eyes staring down at the knife as she went on. "I believe my response to their offer was along the lines of 'you can go crawl up a Rahkshi's arse and choke on its Kraata, now get out of my bar.' They didn't like that, no, not at all, and things got a bit hairy for a day or two there. But, you know, just because they would have preferred the non-massacre option doesn't mean they won't settle for the alternative, and I figured you lot ought to know what was coming. So I used the clacks I got off my visitors' bodies to buy myself a little trip south.
"Now listen very, very carefully, Azak, because it's time for you to learn a life lesson that you seem very desperate to ignore. The world is not going to leave you alone. You can try and hide from it, but it'll catch up to you one day, and it isn't going to give a toss about whatever little ideas you have about how things are supposed to be. If you give it a chance, it'll run you down and make you as ugly as it is, or kill you in the attempt.
"But the answer isn't to pretend it's not happening, or to pretend like you can just beat it down. The answer is to say, 'alright, world, give me your worst. I'll play your game, but I'm not taking it lying down. You might make me a little harder, a little more cautious, but I won't let you take away who I am.'"
Azak was silent, still staring down at the knife. Semeka glanced down and saw that the Fe-Toa's hand was shaking. Her voice turned a fraction softer. "Tell me something, do you think Jodhan's trip to Xia changed him? I mean really changed him?"
"No," said the Toa softly.
"Right. And getting Senn's knife in your gut – do you think it changed you?"
"…Yes."
"And are you glad it did?"
"No," he said, and for the first time she heard a hint of sorrow behind the anger. "I wish every day it hadn't. But what was I supposed to do? I loved her, and she-"
"Face the facts and move on, Azak. Senn was a worm. She didn't live for anything real – she just wanted to get her rocks off by hurting people like you. She was damn good at what she did, because she could always tell when someone wasn't ready to face the world yet. She made you believe that you would never have to." Semeka turned and spat. "No more of that, Toa. Time for you to face reality."
She lifted the blade away and stepped back. "Now. Look at me. What do you see?"
The Fe-Toa lifted a hand to his neck, checking for a wound that wasn't there, and looked her over top to bottom. For a long while he was silent. "A damn ugly green thing," he finally said.
She smirked. "And?"
"And someone Jodhan trusts."
She nodded. "Getting warmer. And?"
He locked eyes with her, and his were clear and hesitant. "Someone I don't know how to handle," he said.
"Toa Azak, welcome to reality. You're going to be saying that a lot these first few months." She slipped the knife back into its sheath along her back. "Now, it is very, very late, and Jodhan'll probably panic if he wakes up and I'm not in that death-vice hug of his. Get some rest, Toa. You look like you need it."
He nodded, still rubbing his neck unconsciously. She turned and made her way back out the front door.
She had just finished gathering her knives up off the ground when he called out. "Tell me one thing, Semeka."
"And that is?"
"Do you think all this has changed you?"
She stared out into the darkness for a while. "I hope so," she finally said.
There was no response as she strode away into the night.
Semeka was alone in the bed when she opened her eyes. She could hear Jodhan in the other room, shuffling something about, and for a few moments she let herself just sink back into the leaf-stuffed mattress and close her eyes again. They may be an island of idiots, but they certainly know how to make a comfortable bed.
"Semeka?" Jodhan's voice was quiet. She opened her eyes; the Toa was carrying two bowls piled high with fruit. He lifted one experimentally. "Breakfast?"
"Not a bad idea," she murmured, and made to get up. He stepped forward and pressed the bowl into her hand.
"Meeting's not for another hour. You can stay in bed a bit longer if you like."
She stared back at him for a moment, and then turned away and began to cackle. Jodhan scrunched his brow in puzzlement as she laughed and laughed, until finally, still chuckling, she looked over at him. "Sorry, Jodhan. But breakfast in bed?"
"What's so funny?"
She smiled. "Nothing. You Toa just lead a charmed life, is all. Give that here." She snatched a particularly red fruit from the bowl and bit into it. The juice was tart and sticky against her tongue, and she finished the whole thing in another two chomps. She looked up to see Jodhan staring at her in a mixture of fascination and horror, and she grinned her widest grin. "Something the matter?"
"No, no, not at all." He lifted a fruit from his own bowl and cupped it in his hands to draw energy from it. "I just forget how messy you Skakdi are sometimes."
"Oh, please," she said, and pulled another fruit from the bowl. "This is me being practically dainty. If I wanted to be messy, you'd be cleaning this bed for the next week."
"Well, I appreciate the effort, then," he chuckled back.
The rest of the meal flew by in idle banter and comfortable silence. When they were done, he pushed the bowls aside and climbed back onto the bed with her. She nuzzled up to him as best she could, and the feeling of his hand running down her spines made her sigh in comfort. "Y'know," she said, "I could get used to this."
"Whatever happened to the two of us being from different worlds and never having a chance together?" he teased back.
"Still mostly stands," she murmured. "But maybe it's not such a bad idea to stick with you for a bit, considering I haven't got a bar to go back to anyway."
"What?"
Whoops. "Long story. Had a bit of trouble before I left, 's all. Nothin' to worry yourself about."
He was quiet for a few moments. "Semeka, can I ask you something?"
"Seems like everyone wants to these days."
"Why did you come to warn us?"
She snorted. "Basic decency, isn't it? I knew what I knew. Wouldn't've been very kind of me to let you all take a Barraki army to the face."
"No," he said. "and that would matter if I'd ever seen you worry about 'basic decency'. A year ago… that was goodbye between the two of us. I thought if I ever wanted to see you again I'd be the one who'd have to seek you out. And I thought-"
"Yes?"
He sighed. "I thought maybe it was a one-time thing. I mean"–he coughed in embarrassment–"I care about you. But it's just that, well-"
"You thought I didn't care about you?"
"No!" he said. "But I didn't know if it was 'cross an ocean' care, I guess. I mean, if you think about it, how long have we known each other? Hardly a week. Split across a year."
"A very busy week."
"Semeka-" he looked her in the eyes and cupped a hand under her chin. "This is good, alright? I'm not sure what it is yet, if it's just that you like me and I like you, or if this is – if I –"
She smiled. "Love, Jodhan. 'Love' is the word you're looking for."
"…Yeah."
Her smile faded. "T'be honest, Jodhan? I don't know either. I know I like you a damned lot. Enough to get myself to endure some truly obnoxious traveling partners and then play message girl to a bunch of stubborn Matoran and Toa. But you remember why I left Zakaz?"
He nodded. "You wanted to build something of your own."
"Yeah. And don't get me wrong, I was damned happy between that bar and the bits of bounty hunting on the side. But-" she looked down- "well, first let me preface this by saying I went over to Azak's house last night and chewed his stupid metal ass out for the way he's been acting."
"You wh-"
"But Azak asked me something important. If I thought this whole business – meeting you, killing Senn, coming here – if it'd changed me. I'm startin' to think it did, just a bit. Your friend was afraid that if he went out in the world, it'd tear him apart, so he shelled himself up. Wrote it off as dirt and tried to hide away." She looked back up. "I'm wondering if maybe between all the drunken sailors and bounty hunting I wound up doing about the same. It's a damn dirty world out there, Jodhan, and I'm all the proof you need of that. But meeting you got me thinking maybe I ought to give it a little more credit."
He drew a thumb across her chin. "Semeka."
"Don't get too excited, Jodhan. Like I said, I like you a damn lot. But there's still some ways to go before we can call whatever this is 'love', and I wouldn't be surprised if we never get there. Not t'mention we've still got a whole island of Matoran to relocate. I think the romance can wait."
"…You're right." He leaned forward and pressed his forehead to hers. "But I'm still glad you're here."
"Damn it, Toa, didn't I just say the romance could wait?"
"You did," he said with a grin, "but you didn't say anything about teasing."
She poked him in the gut. "Look at you, gaming the rules. I must be a bad influence."
"No doubt about that," he laughed, and then glanced over at the window. "We should probably get going. Kychell doesn't like to be kept waiting."
The black-silver Matoran nodded to them as they stepped into Azak's hut; Aeru and Pyk were noticeably absent. The Toa himself was sitting at the head of the table once more, bleary-eyed and silent. Semeka repressed a snort. Doesn't drink anymore my spiny ass. She was actually a little proud – it was one thing to hand a customer a drink when he was sitting at the bar, but it took real skill to drive them to the bottle a thousand kio from any distilleries.
The two took their seats, and Kychell leaned forward. "Good morning. I trust we are all a bit more rested and calm?" Jodhan nodded, but Azak made no response. Semeka picked out a toothpick as the Matoran went on. "Now, I believe we concluded yesterday at an impasse. Semeka, you suggested we attempt a mass exodus in response to this Barraki attack, correct?"
"Y'know, everyone here knows that, Kychell."
"A yes, then. Azak, you were opposed to the idea, as I recall. Have you given the matter any further thought?"
The Toa of Iron had been staring down at the table. He looked up slowly and caught her eye. He had a quiet look on his face, apologetic rather than angry, but still – oh, for the love of – unconvinced.
"I'd like to ask a question first, Kychell."
"By all means."
He stared at her a moment longer, then shifted his gaze to the right. "Jodhan. What do you think of this?"
At her side, Jodhan started in surprise. "Well, I – believe her."
"I know that. I mean what do you think of leaving?"
She turned to the other Fe-Toa. There was a hint of doubt in his eyes.
"I-" he began, and stopped. Abruptly, he stood, walked to the room's window, and looked out over the village. She bit down on the toothpick. Stupid, Semeka. You were so focused on Azak and on the nice pretty breakfast-in-bed you didn't pick Jodhan's brain properly. 'Course Azak isn't going to be the only one worried about leaving.
There was silence for a minute. She glanced back at Azak and saw his face sliding from apology to sad acceptance. She turned back, opened her own mouth-
"Jodhan." Kychell's voice was quiet. "You know we have to do this."
"I do," he murmured. "But this-" he sighed again. "Kychell, I've never been a very good Toa. I ran off to Xia for Azak's sake, but I know that was wrong. A good Toa would have stayed and watched over his village."
"Jodhan," she cut in, "don't give me that self-doubt crap now. You're a damn good Toa. You got someone like me to come out here, that's got to be some kind of record."
"Semeka, with all due respect, I don't think your definition of 'good Toa' is one to work off of." He dipped his head. "Look – this place is all we have. I'm already the Toa that went running off on his own. There's a whole lot of villagers down there – Matoran who used to be friends – who've looked at me funny ever since I came back. If I go down there and tell them they have to give this all up, am I still going to be their Toa?"
She frowned. "I think getting them all out of here alive is a mite more important than your image, Jodhan."
Azak's voice sounded out from behind her. "You misunderstand, Semeka. A Toa is not merely a guardian of his people. He is a symbol of their home, of life itself."
Of all the times for the spiritual crap to come up. "That's all very nice, Azak, but it doesn't change the fact that a live people and a slightly disgraced Toa sounds a damn sight better to me than a dead people and a shiny clean Toa."
"I know, Semeka," Jodhan snapped. "But – that doesn't make this easy."
There was a knock on the table, and the three turned to see Kychell looking back at them with an expression she couldn't read. "Then shall we take the Toa out of the equation?"
Jodhan blinked. "What?"
"Jodhan. Azak. You two have done well these four years; you were our friends before you were our champions, and that has not changed. Azak, each and every one of us took his turn looking after you those months you were unconscious. Jodhan, at every ship that stopped by, we asked if anyone had heard news of you. We do not have much here, but I am glad we have you two."
Azak's voice was surprised. "Kychell, what are you-"
"However." He raised a palm. "Sometimes… a good Toa is not what is needed. There are limits to tradition and honor, and I have watched the two of you straining against them many times since that painful day. For your sakes and for ours, I would not have either of you cross that line.
"So," he said, and turned to Semeka, "I have a proposition."
She flicked the remains of the toothpick away. "Shoot."
"First, answer me this: did you know about this attack because you were asked to be involved with it?"
She shrugged. "In a sense." Without turning around, she added, "Don't freak out, Jodhan. I told 'em to go stuff it. Azak'll back me up on this."
"Good, that will add credibility. Simply put: Semeka, I would like to ask you to blackmail us into leaving."
"'Scuse me?"
"It's quite simple. We'll gather the villagers together and explain you have an announcement. At that point, you'll inform all of them that you are a messenger for, say, Pridak, and that if you are not back in Xia within the week with a guarantee that we have vacated the island, he will bring his full force to brunt against us and we will all very shortly perish."
"And why do I have to play the bad guy here?"
Jodhan's voice was quiet. "Because that's what they expect." She turned her head to see him looking at her with a sad understanding on his face. "If you just tell them the Barraki are coming, they aren't going to want to believe you. They'll hem and haw about it until Azak or I force them to leave, and even then they'll have their doubts."
Azak's voice was quiet. "'Why did our Toa make us leave our home?'"
"Exactly," Kychell replied. "But if an agent of the Barraki arrives in person – a stranger, dangerous, threatening-"
"They won't see me," she muttered. "They'll see Senn. And they'll see that they don't have a choice."
Kychell nodded. "At that point, Jodhan and Azak aren't just telling us to abandon our home. They're protecting us from a danger we've seen before. And that's something we can accept."
The room fell silent. Semeka pulled one last toothpick from her pouch and ran it up and down her teeth. She sighed. "Not a bad plan, Matoran. More devious than I'd have imagined."
"Someone needs to do the dirty work around here, Semeka." The Matoran's voice was cool. "And I'd rather it wasn't these two."
"You're not afraid of Aeru and Pyk blabbing?"
"I'll just say Jodhan and Azak got the truth out of you after they left, and if they protest further – well, theirs wouldn't be the first arms I've twisted."
She looked over her shoulder; Jodhan was staring down at her sadly. Looks like the both of us got our hopes up for no good reason. "Fine," she said. "It isn't pretty, but it'll get the job done."
"Semeka, I-"
"Don't start, Jodhan. This's lookin' like the only way you're going to get these Matoran off this island without throwin' away whatever it is you've got with them."
She saw one of his hands curling into a fist, and without thinking she stood and crossed the distance between them. "Hey," she said. "World's a crappy enough place as is. Who'm I to take away something good from all you mask-heads?"
"But, if you do this-"
"Yeah," she said. "No more us. 'Least not in public. Would kinda undermine the whole Barraki agent thing if your Matoran saw the two of us necking. Or at least trying to, what with the mouth sizes."
He put a hand on her arm. "I-" he shook his head. "Damn it all. I'm sorry, Semeka."
"Hey, no worries." She smiled. "It's like you said. We've known each other, what, a week? These are your people. And they're a mite more worth fighting for than mine were, it looks like."
"They are," said Azak. The other Fe-Toa had crossed the room and joined them. He laid a hand on Jodhan's shoulder. "Look at me, brother. This isn't going to be easy any way we cut it. Pyk can hardly handle keeping the mine running – how do you think he's going to handle losing his home? They need to be able to rely on us."
"Even if that means deceiving them?"
Azak's face sagged, but he didn't look away. "If it is to protect them, then yes."
"It is as Azak says, Jodhan," Kychell said. "The two of you are needed. And I'm sorry, but Semeka isn't."
She lifted a hand to Jodhan's chin and tipped his face up to hers. His eyes were pained but determined, and hiding far in the back was –
Oh, damn. "I'm sorry, Jodhan," she said. "I meant it when I said this isn't love, at least not yet. At least not for me."
He gave a short, choked laugh. "Guess I'm not very good at hiding it."
"No," she muttered. "You're not." She met his mouth for just an instant, and then looked away. It was a shame, it really was. Maybe if they had a few months more she'd be able to match that gaze, but not yet. Right now, the best she could do was make herself the villain so he could keep on being the good guy.
Sorry, Toa. Time to close the book on us and get back to business.
She turned back to Kychell, trying not to pay attention to the feeling of Jodhan's hand on her shoulder. "So. Once everyone's ready to get the heck out of dodge, how are we actually going to do it?"
"I wouldn't worry about that. We've got enough boats in storage that we can leave any time."
She raised a brow. "Really?"
He gave a taut smile. "I admit I pushed for their construction. Ostensibly it was for trading purposes, but, well – I'd be lying if I said I didn't think something like this might happen someday."
"And where are you going?"
"There are settlements all along the coast of the Northern Continent, and we've picked up plenty of navigation charts over the years. I imagine we'll be welcome somewhere."
"Right then." She smiled and stood a little taller. "Guess that just leaves my big performance. Give the word and I'll put th'fear of Mata Nui into them. Or at least the fear of Pridak."
Kychell nodded. "Thank you again. Azak and I will begin our preparations immediately. Once we're finished, I imagine you'll want to depart as soon as possible."
"Seems like. If it's all the same to you, I'd rather not spend a week surrounded by Matoran convinced I'm out to kill 'em all."
"Very well, then. Azak, could you start gathering the villagers? I'll go prepare a boat for your departure."
Azak nodded and turned to leave. She held up a hand. "Hold it, Toa."
"What?"
"I want you to promise me a few things. First off – that you're not going to let these villagers of yours get too scared of what's out there. We do this, and that'll be twice the big mean world came and uprooted their lives. When you land at your new home, wherever that winds up being, you better not let them spend their days hobbled up in their shells, afraid of whatever's out there."
He glowered. "Thinking of someone in particular with that last bit, Skakdi?"
"Yep, you. And second –"
She turned back to Jodhan. The Toa had been silent since she'd broken away, but she was glad to see there was no resentment in his eyes, only sadness and a hint of uncertainty. "Look after this idiot, would you? He's a damn sight better than he thinks he is."
"What do you think I've spent the last thousand years doing?" He nodded to the two of them, then put his hand on Jodhan's shoulder once more. The two Toa exchanged a glance. I'm trusting you to have my back. This time she resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
Then Azak stepped out of the hut, Kychell trailing after, and the Toa and the Skakdi were alone.
They sat in silence for what felt like hours, Semeka twirling one of her knives between her fingers and Jodhan gazing out the window. Finally, she sighed. "Well, here we are."
His voice was rough. "I'm sorry, Semeka."
"You already said that."
"It seems worth saying again." He shook his head. "This feels wrong. You crossed an ocean to warn us, and we're repaying you by painting you as a villain."
"Also duly noted."
He laughed quietly. "Yeah. Nothing ever did get past you."
She looked him up and down one last time. Great Spirit, what she wouldn't do for a bottle of something strong right now – nothing fancy, even, just something to get into the Toa's stomach. Poor guy was a textbook case of heartbreak. She'd seen it a thousand times in her customers.
She felt a pang of regret. Well, maybe she didn't have a bottle to share, and maybe he was a bit more than a customer by now, but she was still a bartender, and it was still her job to give what little advice she could. "Alright, Toa, listen up."
He smiled at that. "That sounds familiar."
"Ah, shut it. I got one thing to say to ya, and that's the best I can do." She reached out an arm and rested her hand on his shoulder, as Azak had done. "I might not be ready to be Missus-Bonehead-Toa, but it doesn't mean I'm not glad to know you. You're a good person, Jodhan. And that's a damn hard thing to be." She smirked. "Just ask me. I'm rotten as they get, and boy is it easy."
"No," he muttered, and looked up into her eyes. "Don't say that."
"Pardon?"
"You're good too, Semeka. Maybe not good in the way most Toa would call it, but I know you are. Rotten people don't just cross an ocean to warn a few villagers they've never met."
"Well, gotta be a first time for everything."
He opened his mouth to respond, then shook his head and chuckled. "Fine. I'll take that."
There was a knock at the door. Kychell stuck his head around the frame. "It looks like Azak's just about gathered everyone up. Shall we?"
"May as well. Come on." She started for the door, but an iron-clad hand grabbed her shoulder. She sighed as she turned to the Toa one last time. "Yeah?"
"Promise me one thing, Semeka?"
"That's a pretty loaded question at this point, Jodhan."
"Promise me that this isn't the end for us."
"That's going to be a mite difficult, seeing as I'm about to go become public enemy number one in the eyes of everyone you know."
"I know that. But…" he looked down. "I want to see you again. Somehow, someway."
She chuckled, and he looked up in surprise. "Spiriah's spikes, Toa, you really need to stop spelling out the obvious so much. But if that's what makes you feel better-" she smiled. "I want to see you again someday too. But let's be realistic here, eh?"
Jodhan's face broke into a smile. "Alright," he said, "I can live with that."
Kychell coughed. Semeka didn't bother to look at him. "We're comin', we're comin'." She gave the Ruru in front of her one last look. I'm going to miss seeing this idiot's face. She felt another twinge of regret and forced it down.
"Come on. Let's go make me the bad guy."
"Semeka."
She turned and looked over her shoulder at the Matoran standing on the rocky coast. "Hello, Kychell."
"A word before your departure?"
"May want to make it quick. I might've oversold it back there, and I'd hate to be around when one of your folk decides to grab a pitchfork."
"What will you do from here?"
"What do you care?"
"I may have a proposition."
She stood, the boat rocking lightly beneath her. "This oughta be good."
"You don't sound surprised."
"Make your case quick, Kychell. But you might want to tell me who in Karzahni you are first, 'cause out of all the iron-heads on this little island, you're the only one I can picture sticking a knife in my back."
He sighed. "Very suspicious of you. But as to who I am, I can't quite tell you that. At least, not directly."
"What, Barraki spy? Makuta minion?"
"Neither." He clasped his hands beneath his chin. "The organization I work for has need of people like you, Semeka. People who can recognize what needs to be done, but who aren't afraid of getting themselves dirty in the process."
"Is this a job offer or a lead-in to a bad serial in the Xia Times?"
"Go to the Northern Continent and travel to the town of Tansen. At the bar across from the town hall, ask to see Jerbraz. They'll tell you that's impossible. Say that you know."
"And what do I get out of this?"
"Purpose." His voice was sharp. "You're a drifter, Semeka. A bartender and a bounty hunter, a Skakdi who won't set foot on Zakaz but who crosses an ocean for a Toa she barely knows. Azak tells me Jodhan told him you had quite the little vigilante operation going on as well."
"So you were the one on the island with the booze."
The Matoran ignored the comment. "It's a dangerous world out there, Semeka. We aim to protect it in ways that people like Jodhan and Azak can't." His gaze softened a fraction. "Because we know that if they did what we do, it wouldn't be much of a world worth living in."
She looked him over for a long time, then reached for a toothpick from her satchel. It was empty. She sighed. "Jerbraz in Tansen, you say?"
"Ask to see him. That's very important. Not to meet him."
"Might be I will, might be I won't. I'll see how the wind feels that day."
"One more thing."
"Jodhan?"
"Jodhan. I can't promise you'll see him often. And you would be forbidden from telling him where your loyalties lay. But I can guarantee that you'll see him again, one way or another."
She chuckled. "And I can guarantee the same just by surviving."
"I wouldn't be so certain of that."
"'Scuse me?"
"It's a dangerous world out there, Semeka, and not even the Barraki are eternal. There will be upheavals soon. You would do well to be in the company of those who can weather them."
Smirking, she leaned over the boat and kicked away from the shore. Beneath her, she felt the waves catch the boat and begin to pull it away into the ocean. "I'll consider it," she called back. "And by the way?"
"Yes?"
"If any of these little 'upheavals' of yours hurt those two, I'll track you down and open your throat wide enough for a Gukko Bird to make its nest."
Now that was a facial expression worth seeing. She turned away from him and looked out over the horizon. The wind whipped up the water into her face, and a few clouds were giving way to the setting sun.
Semeka grinned. It was a damn big world out there.
A/N: considering this whole thing started with the idea of Half-Toa-Half-Skakdi running around, I sure seem to like keeping these two from settling down together. will there be a part three? I don't know yet, but I'm hoping the answer will be yes, and I guess I kind of extremely set myself up for it at the end there. oops.