CHAPTER 1-2: Beginings

The plains of Coober Pedy, Australia, was silent. The underground homes there were caved in months ago, showing no sign that anyone lived there. The occasional cricket and kangaroo was all that was left.

A tall figure sat and meditated in the middle of this all. He was not any ordinary human; in fact, he could not be considered human anymore. His head and skull were gone, leaving the brain to be encased inside a very tough and menacing box-like machine. His lower legs and arms were also gone, replaced with high-tech prosthetics.

Another figure approached him. He had less body modifications, but they were still there; a robotic collar surrounded his neck along with prosthetic feet and hands. The larger one cursed from his meditation spot quite irritably, obviously annoyed at his disturbance. "What is it? This better be good, if you're really telling me in the middle of my meditation," He said in a raspy, cybernetic voice.

We have gotten word from the border patrol, Captain, the small one said in an unknown language, far more complex than any original Earth one. It is of the utmost urgency.

The captain turned his box head in a menacing manner. "What could be the matter that possibly is of concern to the Borogs, solider?" He asked.

The solider gulped nervously before continuing. It's not a small problem. Our greatest fears may have come to pass.

The Captain, despite his one red eye always being emotionless, looked concerned. "What do you mean?"

The Toa, sir, the solider said with immense fear in his voice. The Toa have returned.

The general had then suddenly become silent. He was absolutely stunned at what his solider had said. The Toa...they are awake?, He thought. How is this possible?

Um...sir? the solder said, concerned at the Captain's sudden silence. Are you okay?

The Captain snapped out of his trance. "Yes, I'm okay. There is no need for concern."

The solider, relived, continued. Well then, what do you propose we do about this situation? Are they going to be apprehended?

The Captain then stood up from his meditation on his long legs, exposing his true height. He towered over the small solider, and may as well tower over anything that oppose him.

"Send a squad to capture them," He said. "They will be more than apprehended. These...Toa...will be brought to their knees."

He started to leave before saying one more thing."They will have to answer to Captain Stein."

Once, there had been a small cavern. The cavern, known today as the cavern of spirit due to people sometimes claiming to see ghosts, was generally undisturbed by nature. In fact, the rock was seemingly unbreakable. No matter how hard people tried, the rock would not give in. Not to drills, not to wrecking balls, not to acid, nothing.

But today, a curious hairline crack caught the attention of the Borog border patrol.

The Borogs were humans who adopted their own language, religion, and even their own government, based on robotics. They built countless drones, body modifications, and stellar churches just to name a few.

The border patrol that stumbled upon the cave was located at Sydney, Australia. The Borog spread to other places, of course; to be specific, Europe, Canada, The rest of Oceania, and South America. But since they started off in Australia, that is where they chose to live.

For years, the Borog have been known for their resilience and hard work. They were even thought to be so smart...to smart for their own good. However, the patrol was now stunned by the crack in the cavern of spirits. They have heard of its toughness, and they were gravely confused.

Why is this?, one of them asked. There have never been a crack in the wall before. What happened?

The others only shrugged, and one of them said, We best tell Stein about this. It may be important.

The patrol started to leave, but then they heard crunching, Like rocks during a cave-in. They all turned and saw something truly shocking.

The wall of the cave collapsed. Rubble lined where the wall had been, scattered in every possible direction. Upon closer inspection, the crack was still visible on one of the rocks, so it couldn't have been the cause.

Then, they saw two eyes. Two glowing eyes that stared into their very souls.

Out of instinct, the patrol lifted their rifles and fired.

Then...

...

At first, Calico thought that being a Toa of magnetism was easy when his adversaries had metal weapons and were completely organic.

Now, he realized it was just pushing it to put him against organics that were part metal. He observed what was left of them. One had a head...somewhere...the others were decapitated. They didn't stand a chance; one magnetic disruption and they all just exploded.

Maybe he should have killed them all; that last one that got away could cause whispers of trouble if unchecked.

"We should have chased him down," A white and orange figure behind Calico pointed out. "That guy could cause whispers of trouble."

Calico turned to him, an annoyed expression on his kanohi Ruru. "For the hundred and tenth time, Eliza, stop reading my mind with that damn mask."

"Why? It's fun to see your face when I do!" Eliza said.

Calico rolled his eyes. Ever since Eliza, a Toa of plasma, got his hands on a great kanohi Suletu, he has had way too much fun with it. He would read peoples thoughts and say them out loud, like now, or just say something that someone is about to say before they say it. But what did he expect-Eliza has always been a trickster.

"I don't care if it's fun," an annoyed Calico said, "I don't care if I end up twisting your head off your body because of it. We don't have time for things like this."

Eliza just grinned as if what he had said was a joke. "Oh, lighten up, will you? I just took a nap for five thousand years and I'm bored! Sleeping is not fun, if you haven't noticed. It's not like you haven't."

Calico was about to argue back when a sudden thought popped in his head. "Wait, what year is it?"

"Um..." Eliza started. "We were put to sleep in...hm...1245 BC? Or is it AD? I don't know how human years work."

Calico sighed. "If it was AD, you dolt, then we would have been found out by now."

"Oh, right!" Eliza said. "So, it was 1245 BC...five thousand...4245 AD? No, that doesn't sound right...hm...okay I admit it, I'm stumped."

This is going to be a long, boring hour, Calico thought.

"No, wait!" Eliza said. "I'v got an idea! Wait...never mind."

Calico looked at Eliza once more. "If you even have a slight idea, I need to know it."

"Okay," Eliza said. "I was thinking...since we feel only a little tired, I figure it couldn't have been that long-only about three thousand years," He looked at Calico more intently. "And since this is Australia...I'm assuming...it wouldn't have changed in that time span. And then..." He leaped up and down excitedly, "Since there is no sign of decay on either of us...I'll make the assumption..." he stopped jumping, "That the year is 2050!"

Calico shook his head. "No, that doesn't sound right."

Inside the small control room, someone was observing the two Toa.

She was excited - no, thrilled - that the crushing of the watch worked. She was waiting for this day for a while, and it has finally come up.

She picked up her golden retriever and gave him a colossal bear hug. "I'm so excited, boy! We finally have a hope for this planet!" She let the dog down when he started to do a cross between a whimper and a bark.

She looked into the camera. In it, the two Toa were observing the remains of the dead soldiers. The orange and white one seemed to be scolding the black and grey one. She found out that he was angry at him for even thinking about scavenging the bodies, saying it was 'violating the dead'. The other responded that they needed to have supplies if they wanted to get moving.

She knew getting lip - reading lessons would pay off.

A few minutes ago, she saw that the orange and white Toa was trying to guess the year. They disagreed several times before finally deciding that the year was, indeed, 2050.

Good guessers, she thought. Not very smart, but clever.

She leaned in her seat, a look of worry crossing her face. She needed to meet someone soon, and she hopes the meeting will go as planned.

Assuming that her 'client' doesn't try anything.

Stein crossed the Coober Pedy plains with a very irate gait. In his hands, he held two long, wooden stakes about as tall as him. On his shoulders, around his neck in very loose loops, were wrapped pieces of rope.

He planted the two stakes into the ground and placed three pieces of rope around each one. He then turned to his left, where one of his soldiers stood.

The trap is set, sir, the solider said in Borog.

Stein looked into the distance of Coober Pedy, imagining the two Toa being helplessly tied to the stakes, staring into their imminent doom.

"Good," he said, "now go out there and look out for the Toa. If it seems like they are going to get a move on, then spring the trap."

Yes sir, the solider said. We shall prepare for that very event. And with that, he was gone.

"We shall see who is stronger, Toa," Stein muttered under his breath. "Two cowards or an actual warrior."