This was actually for the BS01 Sleeping Awake contest, but I thought that it would be nice to put it up here as well. Even though I didn't make it. Please read and review (constructive criticism, please). That said, enjoy.
Mission…Accomplished?
Varian heard the rapidly approaching mind long before she heard the corresponding footfalls. Once the messenger came into view of their training facility, she saw the emblem on his armor.
This is bad news, the Toa of Psionics thought, triggering her Kakama to help gather her teammates. They met the matoran at the entrance.
"Governor wants you. At the tower. Now," the messenger announced breathlessly.
"What for, may I ask?" inquired Dume, leader of the Toa Xia and Toa of fire.
"I don't know. He just ordered me to get you as soon as I could. I don't think it's anything bad, there weren't any storm clouds gathering."
"Tell him we're on our way."
I didn't know Toa were so slow. I remember their training site, it isn't far from here. To put it simply, I was annoyed. I'm sure that, by now, they already know what happens when a Makuta gets…irritated. Absentmindedly, I bounced a glowing spherical object in my palm. Its light was tolerable, at least. I decided to get a tablet out of the cases set in the wall around my office, which contained information on every subject imaginable. And were filed in alphabetical order. Standing up to take something out for study, I stopped when I heard a knock sounding on the door. The doorman announced, "Toa Xia to see you, sir."
"Let them in." The Toa of Xia filed in, Dume in the lead. "You probably want to know why I summoned you," I started. "I have a…assignment for you. This," I tapped the sphere I was holding, "is a nuclear bomb. I found this in the possession of one of the finest weapons masters on Xia. One flick of the switch and in ten minutes everything within a diameter of 5 kio will be in ashes. Of course, I confiscated it. But throwing out such a useful thing seems like a waste. So, I am charging you with testing this." The Toa all started talking at once.
"Wait, I'm not finished yet. You have to take this to the barren island next door—I've checked, there's absolutely nothing there—and press the 'Start' button. Then you get out of there on the double. It will only take the better part of the day to get to the place and back." There. Short and incisive. "Of course, I will provide transportation. Any questions?"
Gaaki spoke up. "It all sounds very well, but I can't help but wonder if there's something more to this. There must be some other threat, or you wouldn't go to the trouble of making us go."
I smiled. How nice. One of them had figured it out without my telling them. "Yes, threats. Let me see…" I ticked off each one on my fingers. "No one but the Darks Hunters, the colleagues of the crafter who made the weapon, and some good-for-nothing scum who might have heard about it. Nothing four Toa can't handle, obviously." I handed Dume, who was frowning, the bomb. "Vehicles are waiting outside the door. Good luck."
"Does anyone know just where is the point in this?" grumbled Varian. The toa were riding some sort of levitating motorcycle which each seated two. "We could just as well be polishing our armor back at the fortress. And there has to be something wrong with our Governor, sending us on this pointless trip."
The Toa of Stone who was riding in front of her grinned. "What's wrong with a day off? Besides, we get to ride these awesome bikes!"
Varian reluctantly smiled. Right then, Dume pulled up next to her. "Varian, are you on the lookout for an ambush?"
"Of course." She extended her consciousness over the barren plains. Immediately, she sensed two beings whose minds were shielded from her. "Right there. Behind that boulder. There're two of them, but their minds are shielded, so I can't get a read on them. Get ready for combat."
I crouched behind a boulder, my assigned partner Dweller at my side, watching Toa on two weird vehicles soaring towards us. We had been sent to get the bomb that these Toa were carrying. As they got closer, I saw that there were four toa: fire, water, stone, and an element I didn't recognize. The last Toa had blue and gold armor.
Dweller seemed startled. "Uh, Primal? I think we have a problem," he said, pointing at the strange Toa. "That must be a Toa of Psionics. Her mind is shielded, so I can't hear her. Thankfully she hasn't shielded her teammates' minds as well, or we'd be at a serious disadvantage."
"So we adjust our plan," I shrugged. "I tackle the Psionics Toa before she can read my mind, and you immobilize the others with your powers."
"She can sense us, even if I shield us," Dweller explained. "So we have to act more quickly and forcefully. We might want to capture her, for Toa of Psionics are rare enough that the Shadowed One might have a use for her."
"Meaning she'll look good in the trophy room," I snickered. Hmm, if we handed over the Toa, would the Shadowed One let us keep the bomb? Probably not. You never know when an engine of mass destruction will come in handy, though. "Fine, we'll move quickly. Now seems like a good time." The Toa had sensed us, and the rock we were hiding behind exploded.
Varian grappled with the Dark Hunter, both of them struggling to make the other submit to their will. They were so engrossed in their mental battle that they didn't notice Gaaki slipping away. However, Primal did, and when he moved to stop her, he was immediately attacked by the other two Toa. In the time he took to get on his feet again, the water Toa had already disappeared.
Great! She'll have the bomb, and when we get back to Odina, I can't wait to see the welcome that the Shadowed One is waiting to bestow upon us! Ah, well, it's probably better that she has it. Who knows what our dear leader will order detonated? As Primal moved to take revenge on the Toa, he saw Dweller drop to the ground, either because a giant hand made of stone and ringed with flames had reached up to grab him, or because the Psionics Toa succeeded in overcoming him. Seizing the distraction, he paralyzed the fire Toa and used his spear to knock the other two toa out.
When Dweller regained consciousness, he saw three toa stretched out on the dirt. Primal was nearby, cleaning his spear and waiting for Dweller to wake up.
"As you can probably see, one toa got away. With the objective of our mission, no less," Primal informed him. "I say we take these three back to Odina and see if anyone has a use for them."
"Is our boat large enough?" Dweller asked groggily. He had taken a hard mental blast just as a fist of stone appeared around him, squeezing the air out of his lungs. Even worse, the hand had been entwined with flames. Luckily, he healed fast.
"It has to be. Otherwise, the Makuta who sent them on this mission will surely notice their disappearance and send troops after us. Even if he doesn't care for them, it's bad for his reputation to let other beings kidnap his subjects and get away with it."
"Fine," Dweller groaned. "Which one do you want to carry?"
While we were on our way to the island, our leader informed me that we needed a backup plan. He was convinced that there was more to the mission than met the eye. Why else would our Governor, who has probably met us all of two times before, send us, the Toa Xia, on this errand? Unlike the standard toa team, our team had only four members, due to various misfortunes. Well, Dume ordered me to hide the bomb in my pack and use my Huna to slip away to the ocean if we got attacked. I was to store the weapon in an undersea crevice that I could find again later, then loop back to rejoin our teammates.
When I started to protest, he held up a hand to stop me. "I know how you feel. This is hard for me as well, especially with our team's past history, to send away one of my trusted friends and teammates. However, this is really important, and you're the best on our team at swimming, being a Toa of Water and all. Wearing a mask of invisibility doesn't hurt, either. Don't worry; we can take care of ourselves."
I didn't know that he would be right. Except for the 'We can take care of ourselves' part. As I watched Dume and the others start to battle the two Dark Hunters, my heart expected me to be fighting alongside them, but my brain told me otherwise. When they were completely engrossed, I steeled myself to activate my Huna and sneak away. The Hunter with the spear tried to stop me, but Dume and our Toa of Stone took him out. Luckily, the Dark Hunters had not waited until we were far inland to make their move. I reached the ocean without undue misfortune, and slipping beneath the waves, began searching for a crag to store the stupid bomb in. I prayed to the Great Spirit that the thing was waterproof. Well, at least it hadn't exploded yet.
I found a suitable place to stash it. Then I propelled myself back upwards with my hands and feet, surfacing near the area I dove in. Still using the Huna, I got back on the island to find the other members of the Toa Xia. After a few wrong turns, I spotted the blasted boulder where I had last seen them. When I reached the place, I was startled to find it devoid of any living beings. There were two sets of footprints leading away, still fresh, from the look of them, with signs of a struggle. Apprehension rising, I started to follow the tracks.
As we towed the three Toa back to the boat, I started to have misgivings. We were practically sentencing them to death, or worse, by bringing them to the home base. They had never done us harm, well, much permanent harm, anyway, they just had the misfortune to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Besides, I was pretty sure that our boat couldn't hold me, Dweller, and three Toa, being a light craft. And we could capture the other Toa again easily, seeing as how we already have one of their number.
I turned to Dweller and asked him, "Aren't you tired, dragging these Toa all the way back to the base?"
His eyes narrowed. "Of course I am. But I know what you're thinking. If you want to leave the fire and stone Toa, fine, though personally I'd still like to clobber them. But they're not worth the trouble. However, while you might be unperturbed by the various punishments our leader is prone to dishing out, I am not. So I'm taking the Psionics Toa along with us, slim chance though she may be."
I hadn't expected Dweller to be so cooperative. From what I've seen (and heard) of him, this was not characteristic behavior for him. What would his motive be? I decided to put it out of my mind. Saving two were better than none, I conceded. And there's no use arguing with him. "Fine," I shrugged. Why waste words? He knows what I'm thinking, anyway.
The journey back to Odina was uneventful. We locked the blue-and-gold Toa in a cabin with no windows as soon as we got on board, since outsiders aren't supposed to see where our island is. That was fine by me, as I had no desire to be pestered by our prisoner. I heard somewhere that mind readers could only sense what you were thinking at the moment, so I just had to remember not to think about anything important whenever Dweller or the Psionics Toa was around.
Mostly, I spent the trip practicing spearsmanship at the bow; it does wonders for your mental health to practice using your weapon more. You never know when you might need it in a life like mine.
Finally, we reached the shores of Odina. I asked Dweller to knock out the Toa with his mind before we got off, so she would be easier to carry. He complied, and I slung the Toa over my back. When we approached the guarded entrance to the sprawling fortress, the Hunter on guard duty, Prototype, growled, "Who goes there?"
"Primal, Dweller, and a captive, returned from a mission," I informed him, showing him the entrance tablet that the Shadowed One handed out to operatives. Once we reported back, the tablet would be taken away. Safety precautions, of course. The guard let us go after he slowly examined the carving.
The walls of the fortress were changing their configuration even as we walked down its corridors, herding us towards the throne room. We reached the place only after walking into a couple of dead ends. It was frustrating, but I imagined our leader needed some entertainment, spending so much of his time on the island.
When we finally entered the room, I saw the Shadowed One sitting on his throne as usual, with his shadow, Darkness, hanging on the rafters above him, also as usual. What was new was a pristine stasis tube standing next to the chair. It looked like one of the stasis tubes that the Metru-Nui archive uses. Who would go to the trouble of lugging it all the way here? Certainly not anyone I knew.
The Shadowed one rose slowly to his feet. He rumbled, "I see that you brought a Toa back with you. However, I do not see the objective of your mission. Do you have it?"
I decided to get it over with quickly. I've faced The Shadowed One's punishments before; they hurt, but I wasn't afraid of them. "To make a long story short, no," I got out. Beside me, I could sense Dweller's apprehension, even though I have no mind-reading powers. Then he abruptly relaxed. What did he hear?
"Ah, your courage does you credit. A pity it won't help you. See, both of you already know what happens when you fail. And you're right. If there weren't any punishments, there would be no results. But count yourselves lucky," he continued. "It just happens that I have a use for that Toa. I will only dock your pay for this trip."
Varian's head throbbed as if she had been in the path of a Kikanalo stampede. Slowly, she recalled taking a blow to her head, waking up in a windowless room that must have been on a boat, and then blacking out, again.
To Karzahni with the Dark Hunters! She noted that she was in an empty cell. There was no one else in there with her. Could she push the lock open with telekinesis? No good. The lock was guarded against that kind of assault. Forget about the lock, then. She decided to scan the area to see if anything could help her escape.
It took a few tries, but when she managed to cast a mental probe over the nearby area, Varian sensed only Dark Hunters. No trace of her teammates. I must be in the Dark Hunter base! But none of my teammates are here. Perhaps they weren't captured? She fervently hoped that they were all right. What happened during the fight? I remember overpowering the mind-reading Hunter with Dume and our Toa of Stone's help, and then the other one clunked me on the head. Wait, something's wrong! I don't remember seeing Gaaki anywhere during the fight! Maybe she got away. Hopefully with the bomb.
Trying to ignore the discomfort in her skull, the Toa of Psionics sat up painfully. She was in a completely bare cell, the kind with no visible windows or illumination. No matter. She didn't need to see to use her power. I'll start by looking for the other Dark Hunter, she decided. His mind isn't shielded. Most of the minds here aren't, though.
Varian located the Dark Hunter, who she learned was called Primal, fighting at a training field. Apparently, on this island, all fights were to the death. She supposed that he was practicing, as she had never encountered that kind of training back home. Well, who knows with these barbarians?
She could only sense stray wisps of thought unconnected to the battle, as, obviously, battling for your life takes up rather a lot of your attention. From those, the Toa of Psionics gathered that Primal was rather surprisingly…honorable. At least, he had a stronger sense of justice than most, probably all, of his comrades. He was the one who decided not to bring the two other members of the Toa Xia to Odina. Interestingly, he had seen Gaaki sneaking away, presumably with the bomb. Varian sighed in relief. All of her teammates were safe. From the Dark Hunters, at least. Their mission was not completely sabotaged.
Suddenly, Primal ended the fight by dispatching his opponent with a blow to his neck. During the short break afterward, Varian sensed him dwelling on his audience with the Shadowed One. They had been spared seemingly because the Toa they had brought would serve a purpose.
That would be me, Varian realized. This is really, really bad news. As she was pondering the best way to get out of this treacherous place alive, she heard two minds outside her cell. They were under orders to bring her before the Shadowed One. What a great opportunity! When one of them stuck the key in the lock and turned it, Varian sent a lance of mental energy towards the two Hunters, collapsing them. She pushed open the door and raced outside. Strangely, whichever way she turned, she always seemed to run into a dead end. After twisting and turning for a respectable fraction of time, the corridors opened into a large room.
In the middle of the room, there was a huge, ugly black throne made of an unidentifiable metallic materiel, with an even more hideous being sitting upon it. One touch of his mind confirmed him to be The Shadowed One, leader of the Dark Hunters. It also confirmed her fate, which was as horrible as she'd feared. Above him was another being, shrouded in darkness. Varian dully registered that his mind was shielded from telepathy.
Why? Varian only dimly noticed the beings around her. Why does he want to do that to me? Scanning the walls for signs of an escape route, she found only shelves full of grisly trophies.
Evidently the dark figure on the throne sensed her consternation, for he explained, "No use looking for a way out of this fortress. I control these walls, and no one escapes unless I let them." He laughed humorlessly. "But I certainly am not going to let you go so easily. Being a Toa of Psionics, I'm sure you've already figured out what is going to happen to you. And you are right."
Waving a hand, he made another doorway appear to Varian's right. Primal and Dweller entered, unsurprised by seeing her there. In fact, Dweller looked rather bored, though he had his mental shields up. They had been summoned here to see her fate. And, of course, to do the dirty work. I'd have thought that, after failing their mission, their leader wouldn't let them help. Apparently, they could. I suppose he doesn't want to dirty his claws by dealing with me personally.
"Now, to business," the Shadowed One announced. "I will give you two choices. One, you join us, and become a Dark Hunter. Two," he continued, "Well, it isn't too unpleasant, I assure you. You won't feel a thing." Varian heard it in his mind. Again. Do I have the courage to stand up to him? She could see an empty stasis tube set in the walls. Her resolve wavered for a moment, then she thought of the many atrocious doings of the Dark Hunters that she had heard of, and her own experience with them. Yes, I do. She knew what she would choose.
"I'll never join you, even if it means my death. And I know it doesn't," she declared, sealing her fate. Put in stasis, she might be freed, someday. But becoming a Dark Hunter? That would be worse than death. She would never be the same again. Anyway, my friends haven't gotten caught. Neither did they let the bomb fall into the hands of these immoral creatures. I hope they won't come looking here for me; nothing good could happen. I'll take whatever comes by myself. It's my own fate.
"How disappointing," the leader of the Dark Hunters said, though he didn't sound disappointed at all. "Well, you'll be good for intimidating the beings who come in here. Primal, Dweller, I'll let you do the honors." They proceeded to grab Varian by the arms, marching her to her prison, probably for the rest of time. Ah, I guess this is it. I'm going to be stuck in that place for Mata Nui knows how long. I just hope that I'll still be myself when I wake up. If I wake up. But she didn't struggle, deigning to deprive the emotionless leader of any satisfaction. While Dweller activated the controls, she heard the other Hunter, Primal, whisper to her in his mind: Don't look.
Varian closed her eyes.