Careful Chapter 4, a bionicle fanfic

Disclaimer: I don't own Bionicle, only myself and Wraith.

The good thing about a third-degree burn is that it kills most of the nerves so it does not hurt quite as bad as it could. The bad thing about it, well besides it being a burn, is that the skin is charred and small parts of the skin is almost completely burned away. Staring down at the design on my forearm, as I tried to ignore the pain I did feel from the nerves surrounding the damaged area, I made out a circle with two J-shaped lines lying on top of it, while leaving a slight gap in the center, with the top and bottom of the J's sticking out of the circle. A straight line moved from top to bottom in the middle of the circle with two more slanted lines coming out of it to connect to the bottom of the circle. I would later learn that it was a symbol for fear or uncertainty. I have my guesses but I never really found out why Teridax chose that.

Teridax led me to a single door, with crude markings and symbols that looked like they were scratched into the stone with a knife, built into the rock wall at the end of corridor.

"Through there you will find your trainer and mentor." He said stopping to look at me a few paces in front of the door. "I will send for you shortly."

Next thing I knew I was alone staring at a door that led straight to hell, a hell that I had brought on to myself. Staring at the door for a few minutes before curiosity and complete ignorance of the situation made me stretch my uninjured arm towards the door. I often think about what I might have done differently if I had known what was going on, and what I would have done. Would I have opened the door? Or would I have ran away, to become lost in the underground fortress where only my death would free me.

The door opened inwards to reveal a huge, well-lit chamber that could easily have been up to three stories high and as much as one hundred yards in length. What looked to be a huge obstacle course was set up to cover most of the room and even occupy the space in the air as it extended to the ceiling high above my head.

"What have we here?" A deep voice questioned. I jerked my head side to the side, as I tried hard to spot the unknown speaker, but found only empty air.

"Where are you?" I asked.

"Where am I? What about, What. Am I?" The voice answered but I still could not pinpoint where it was coming from.

"Fine, what are you?"

With a chuckle the voice replied, "You seem afraid yet it doesn't show. You just might be good enough to try."

"You haven't answered any of my questions!" I growled in anger as I continued to fail at spotting my unknown speaker.

"No," it said in a low voice almost directly behind me. "I will show you."

I whirled around in time to see a dark blur of movement before I was sent sprawling to the floor a few meters deeper into the room.

"You wanted to see me," The voice growled, "Here I am."

I rolled onto my back right as a strong hand griped my shirt and I was thrown into the air, to land painfully on the hard floor again. Trying to scramble to my feet, I was picked up by the back of my shirt and brought face to face with my attacker.

"I am Wraith." He hissed into my face right before a backhanded blow sent me flying backwards into something solid. My vision blurred as I tried my best to remain on my feet leaning heavily against the small barrier that I had hit.

"You are weak!"

A blow to my stomach knocked the air out of my lungs as a dark shadow appeared in front of my unfocused eyes.

"Fight back!" I heard as I once again was picked up and thrown into the air before landing onto the smooth, stone floor, followed by a jolt of pain shooting up my body. I tried weakly to push myself onto my hands and knees, but a kick in the ribs sent me onto my back with a fresh wave of pain.

"If you don't fight back you will die."

My vision cleared enough for me to make out a dark figure standing over me. The pain was washing all over me and it was all I could do not to give a cry when Wraith bent down to raise my upper body off the floor. Next thing I knew my vision cleared and a water-like sensation traveled through my body as the pain went completely away, leaving me feeling…well anything less then amazing would be an understatement.

"Feels good doesn't it?" I lifted my eyes to meet glowing green ones, and found myself staring into the face of a demon.

"Last chance boy," was all he said.

'Mother…' My thoughts were lost as I was picked up off the floor and with a blow to the chest I was sent flying backwards into another barrier. The momentum from the blow was more then enough to send me rolling over it and back onto the hard floor.

"Gah, this isn't the fairest fight I've ever been in." I mumbled sarcastically as I quickly scrambled to my feet. Looking over the barrier, that was little more then a small stone wall, my eyes met Wraith's right as he easily jumped onto the barrier separating us and aimed a open handed swing at my face. What would have sent me sprawling to floor, only rustled my short hair as it passed harmlessly over my head as I dodged it and made a dash to safety.

"That's right," the voice of Wraith called, "run little viza."

Turning, I stopped and watched as he hopped causally to the floor and got onto his hands and feet, like a cat readying itself to pounce on it's pray, tail twitching slightly as it was raised into the air.

"What do you want with me?" I asked.

"You ask questions that won't help your situation."

"It might."

"Maybe, but dodging certainly will."

Before the words had finished coming out of his mouth, Wraith charged like an animal on his hands and feet. As I tried to jump out of the way, one of his hands reached out and snatched my wrist and I was jerked to the side. My back slamming into a wall was the only thing that stopped me from being thrown halfway across the room, but it didn't exactly feel too good.

"Argh," I groaned as I opened my eyes and jerked my head to the side right as a black fist pummeled the wall where my face had been. But I wasn't able to dodge the backhanded slap to the face that sent me stumbling to the floor. Or, at least it would have if I wasn't caught before I hit the floor. With one hand Wraith straightened me into a more or less standing position and with the other punched me in the stomach. The force of the blow took away my breath as I started to double over onto the floor. Before I could however, I was half pushed, half thrown onto my back that sent a blast of pain through my body and stars danced in my eyes, blurring my vision.

"First lesson: Opponent isn't out of the fight until he is dead." With that, I saw a blur of motion and felt no more.

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It was like coming out of a deep sleep. A sleep I couldn't remember even taking. I was lying face up on a hard surface that wasn't the most uncomfortable bed, if you could call it that, I have ever slept on but wasn't anywhere near the most comfortable one either. The chamber I was in had an eerie glow to it that kept most of the room in shadow while only allowing minimal visibility everywhere else.

A loud banging sound that almost made my heart go to my throat brought me out of my thoughts. Soon after, I was just able to make out the sound of a conversation getting closer.

"…Maybe, maybe not." Said the first voice.

"Either way, Wraith…" 'Wraith? Someone is talking to a wraith? I asked myself not daring to move as the second voice continued, "Your methods are going to have to change."

"You asked me to train the boy, not make him some Razzak brat who can't show his face to the sun without help."

"I don't care how you train him. I'm talking about how you set it up to train him." The second voice growled.

"It was already dead by your hand. All I did was collect a little trace of the boy off its shattered claws. Besides, putting Viztrak blood into him without knowing how his body would react would not be the best approach."

"But you did after I had already told you to remain here, or is that the reason you did it? To deify me?"

"We of the Viztrak do not deify but treat loyalty with uttermost respect." 'Wait…wraith, a name…do I know…him? Ah crap.'

"That may be but recent events might suggest other whys."

"What are you going to do then? Send your pathetic excuse for warriors, the Rahkshi, to put me back in line?"

"No, but I will be keeping an eye on you."

"Good, you might learn something."

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that. How is his body working out with the injection?"

"Like a Viztrak spawn."

"Good. Oh, I suggest you change your attitude next time I come to talk to you."

"I might, depends on whether or not I had a good hunt before our talk."

After that, the conversation ended and I was plunged into a deathly silence. I laid there in silence for a few minutes pondering what I had just heard. 'Wraith is a…Viztrek…no Viztrak? What is a Viztrak? And what did they do to me?

Another question I asked myself was why did he attack me and is he going to do it again. 'Is that part of his training?' I asked myself as I remembered how he had completely healed me halfway through the fight. Well, only to beat me to the point of unconscious afterwards. 'Wait a second.' I experimentally shifted my arms, 'He put me unconscious and then injects his own…blood into me! Ah! I feel different…as if his blood made me…stronger? But that means…'

"Time to get up viza!"

The words broke into my thoughts right as I was pushed off my resting spot and onto the cold hard floor. I surprised myself by catching myself with my hands right before my face met the stone.

"Your reflexes mean nothing if you can still be struck down by your opponent."

While the words were still being spoken I was picked up by the back of my neck and thrown against the wall. The wall gave way and I was sent stumbling into a brightly lit space. Ignoring the pain that I was hardly feeling I brought myself to my hands and knees and looked back to where I had just come from. An open door, that must have been what I had hit while being thrown, showed the dark, demon-like figure of Wraith standing on a block-like table that had served as my bed while I was unconscious.

"Lesson number two: Always wait for the right moment to make your move." He said half growling.

Then in a one swift movement he jerked his hand back and threw. Before the hatchet-like weapon was thrown, unconsciously I knew its exact path, and while it spun towards me in the air, I knew where it was going to land. I dove to the side and heard the clattering of metal on stone as the weapon hit the floor that I had just vacated.

"Now viza, take the weapon and defend yourself."

Scrambling to my feet, I made a dash to where the hatchet landed while out of the corner of my eye I saw Wraith charge the fallen weapon as well. Reaching it first, I scooped the weapon up and continued running even when knife-like claws made a grab at my arm, which missed the grip but made three cuts on the outside of my forearm that traveled halfway up my upper arm before loosing contact. Ignoring the pain shooting up my arm, I ran and bolted over a small barrier before coming to a halt and checking behind me. Barely enough time to react, I ducked under a blow as Wraith cleared the barrier and over me in one jump. Missing by centimeters, he sailed over me and landed in a half roll that brought him to his feet in a crouch several feet in front of me.

"Use your surroundings to your advantage." He said looking at me with a blink less stare.

"Uh…" Before I could utter a word, Wraith struck like lightning. One moment we were staring at each other the next he hurled himself at me and with two blows I was sent sprawling to the floor with lungs that felt like they were too small. As I fought to get air back into me, I was pushed over onto my back with Wraith looming over me.

"Teridax wants to have a talk with you." He said coolly. "And next time you don't pay attention, I'll forget you are just flesh and blood and will treat you like my own kind."

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Chapter comments: I don't know why but I actually enjoyed writing this chapter. Oh, and before you start getting strange ideas, Wraith did NOT put his or the blood of his species in me, it is something else that right now will be called Viztrak blood. Not the next chapter, although that one has a LOT of dialogue, but the one after I will try to talk to Wraith and find out more about him and the "blood" inside me. Look below for help on the strange language that has made an appearance in this story.

Viztrak words and definitions:

Viza- viz-uh - Word for learner, a pupil, student. A first born son can also be considered a viza.

Viztrak- viz-track – Word meaning demon sons, or sons of night or shadow. (Extinct species)

Razzak –Raz-zach – Sons of earth. (Tribe)

Don't forget to ask if you have any questions.