CHAPTER 1-7: My Best Acquaintance
The forests of Jakarta, Indonesia, were still. The only noises that were present was the slight hum of birds and the buzz of a thousand bugs and insects that roam the land in the dead of night.
Well, for a while, at least.
Soon, a rumble roared through the quiet forest. Then, a figure dashed through the undergrowth, disturbing two nesting flies and a bird about to strike its prey. Several other figures followed; a small eagle-pig and two lion-jackals.
The running figure dashed over a fallen log and accelerated into a small clearing. The creatures had other ideas, running around two small trees that would take them to the other side of the clearing. With that, they charged at their prey.
The figure, taken by surprise, tried to skid to a stop, but instead caught his foot on a small piece of vine and tripped. The creatures went over there to finish him of.
But all of a sudden, the pig stopped. It started to growl at the other creatures. The two lions looked back at the pig, confused that its sudden anger was now directed at them.
At that moment, a large dog leaped into the clearing, jumping onto one of the lions. The pig immediately attacked the other one, which took it by surprise.
The lion swiped a large claw at the pig, but it dodged and kicked its razor-sharp clawed foot right into the lion's midsection. The lion reeled back, three large gashes in its flank. It tried jumping back onto the pig, but it sidestepped, then rammed it as hard as it could into the lion. It crashed to the ground, bleeding from its flank. Its breaths became quick and shallow.
At the other side, the dog was struggling to get the other lion off its back. The lion, in turn, tried to grip its claws on the dog's fur. The dog then rolled on its back, crushing the opposer and getting it off. It jumped back up and quickly dodged a swipe from the dog. It slashed the dog's muzzle, and it started to bleed. The dog, now distracted, stumbled, exposing his weak underbelly. The lion prepared for a finishing strike.
All of a sudden, the pig rammed into the lion like he did with the other one. The lion, stunned, tried to get up, but not before the dog sank his teeth into its throat. It struggled, but it was no use. The lion eventually went limp.
The pig and the dog both looked at each other before looking back to the chased. He was still sitting there, shaken by what he has seen. He didn't look normal; he had prosthetics on his hands and feet, along with a large white collar.
The creatures looked at him; he looked back.
"Th...thank...y...you..." he muttered.
The creatures, not understanding, growled at him.
"Well," a voice said, "I didn't know that this was the reason they ran off..."
At that moment, a figure revealed herself. She looked rather feminine with a gold and blue color scheme - and she was clearly mechanical.
The figure suddenly grew scared. The dog and pig went up to and together they faced the Borog.
"A Borog speaking English?" Natalia said. "This must be my lucky day..."
Great.
They said they wouldn't screw up. And they did. Big time.
It all started when they got captured by the Scaro. They thought that getting captured was bad, but that getting bonded and being forced to play 'follow the leader' was far worse.
Calico felt uncomfortable with all the knots from his bond digging into his wrist. He looked forward at the wolf-lizard that captured them. He was conversing with the lion-rhino and keeping an eye on the eagle-hog. He would tug on the collar of the beast if it started wandering off.
Eliza was not holding up any better. He was currently locked in a staring contest with a small bush, in which he was apparently bored enough to do so. If they passed by the bush, he would lock eyes with another random piece of brush.
Calico ached to know what the Scaro were thinking. He turned to Eliza, hoping to make eye contact. Unfortunately, he was looking in the other direction, eyes on a dead tree stump.
Luckily, he thought of a way to get his attention.
"You know..." Calico whispered loudly to him, "You could get us BOTH out of here...like, right now."
"Hey!" The wolf said. "I can hear you back there! I'm not deaf!"
Calico looked at him, annoyed. "Oh, can you now? Of course since I thought a WOLF was deaf, I would say anything I wanted!"
The wolf stopped and turned to Calico. Then, he took his spear and whacked Calico's head. Surprised, he stumbled into Eliza, who finally looked at Calico.
"And I thought I was the one who got in trouble..." He muttered.
Calico, now on the ground with a face full of dirt, stood up and glared at Eliza. "This isn't the time, Eliza!" He then leaned forward over to Eliza's ear. "Have you thought of anything? Is this the time do use your 'ability'?" He whispered.
Eliza whispered back. "I haven't thought it out exactly...but maybe if you distract them some more, I can think of a way to get them by surprise."
"Hey!" the wolf yelled. "We don't have time to wait! Shut your yapin' and get over here!"
Calico and Eliza looked back to their captors. They ran back and trailed them once more.
They got moving again. Soon, it was nearly nighttime. The sun was just starting to set on the Java coast as the evening ended. If they were just simple bystanders, they may have stopped to take a look at the beautiful sunset.
However, the two Toa had different ideas.
Eliza looked over to Calico. After a few moments of locking eyes, Eliza finally nodded; this was Calico's signal to start.
"So..." he started. "Why did you capture us again?"
For a while, the wolf said nothing. Then, he spoke. "Because you trespassed."
"Really? That's the only reason?" Calico said. "Is it because you think we're some sort of Borog contraption?" For a comical effect, he increased the magnetic energy in his eyes to make them glow. "Because I'm here to tell you that's not true."
The wolf was silent again before responding. "Well, I don't believe that. But we'll deal with them soon enough; for now, we've got you to worry about."
Calico tilted his head, his eyes still glowing. "Well, did they mention something about Toa?"
"No..." the wolf said. "If they did, then I would be doing something...much more unpleasant to you right now."
Calico laughed. "Oh, so if I said I was a Toa, then you would try to kill me?" he decreased the glow of his eyes. "I would think that rather unwise."
The wolf stopped. He gripped the spear in his hands, which they started to turn a little white. The lion-rhino, concerned, looked at him. "Um, sir? Are you okay?"
He then turned and readied the spear in his hand. "Yes, I know who you are. I know that you came here with the Borog. And now, you're going to suffer." He then reeled the spear behind him, ready to strike.
"Eliza, NOW!" Calico yelled.
What the Scaro didn't know was that as Calico was talking to them, Eliza was concentrating on building up a plasma charge. When Calico gave the word, he crouched down and released all of the energy he stored. What happened next stunned all.
The entire area turned a bright shade of orange, so bright that it even made Calico and Eliza stumble and fall. Then, the heat of the plasma-induced blast set in. It was so terrible that the two Scaro started to scramble all over the place. The eagle-pig suddenly ran for it, dashing into the undergrowth.
After the light faded, there was the four beings just lying there, covering their heads. Other than that, there was nothing else. Within the entire radius of the blast, there was no more trees. All the trees, when exposed to the raw plasma, simply disintegrated. All that was left was a small piece of vine, which Eliza landed on and provided as cover for.
Several minutes passed before Calico dared to move a muscle. Calico, cautiously, stood up from where he was laying. Eliza, already up, began to brush off dust left from a small bush that the vine originated from.
"Okay..." Calico said, "When you said 'less gruesome than a nova blast', I guess I should have considered that you said less..."
"You can thank me later," Eliza said. "We've escaped so far, but I won't expect this to go on for much longer."
Calico nodded. Then, he turned to the two Scaro.
Then, he noticed they were not there anymore.
"Uh-oh," Calico said. "I don't think we'll be getting a break anymore."
Eliza looked at Calico. "They must have snuck off when we had our backs turned." Eliza then looked confused. "Why didn't they try attacking us then?"
"Remember," Calico said. "that wolf said, 'I know who you are'." He sat down, a look of dread in his eyes. "And we said we wouldn't screw up."
Eliza looked to where the Scaro once were. "When they captured us, they called us 'stowaways'. That is a name for beings that are found catching a ride on a boat." Eliza then walked over to where the wolf was. Then, he leaned over and grabbed a small pair of binoculars.
"They've been spying on us ever since we got to Jakarta," Eliza said. "They must've followed us into the forest when we started heading to Singapore."
Calico looked concerned. "If they went over to their leader, then it means something." He then looked up to the moon, where its glow illuminated the entire area. "This means we just declared war. The Borog are going to be stuck fighting for their lives again."
Eliza went over to Calico and placed his arm over his shoulders. "Don't worry brother," Eliza said, his eyes glowing. "They're not alone this time. Let's go and give those Scaro a hard time, eh brother?"
Stein sat in the Singapore coast, waiting. He looked at the clock inside the bowels of the ship; It read 10:34. They were supposed to be here three hours ago.
He leaned back into his chair. He has always considered the thought of capture, but it quickly left his mind. He figured the Toa were better suited to defending themselves if they had to.
What he feared was more than that. What he feared was that she found them.
He didn't tell the crew, but before they left to Singapore, he saw her again. She would've been easy to spot with her colors, but that is no problem if your a Toa of Psionics and surrounded by weak-minded people. She was watching the two Toa, and she followed them into the undergrowth.
He shuddered at the thought of what she could have done to them. He wasn't sure that she would go as far as to kill them, but she would think of something that would keep them out of commission for a long while.
Sir, one of the sailors unexpectedly said. We've got company. A Scaro patrol, coming fast.
Scaro? Stein turned to the sailor. "What?" he said. "Tell them I will be out in but a moment."
Of course, sir. The sailor then exited the small hidden area, off the ship.
If the Scaro were here, then at least it wasn't her.
He got up and exited the hideout. He climbed onto the deck and looked out onto the beach. On it, there was Lyarch, along with several lizard-lions.
He got down and walked up to him. "What is the problem, sire?" Stein said in a cautious voice. "We will only be here in Singapore for the night. In the morning, we will return to Australia-"
"Oh, cut the bullshit, Stein!" Lyarch said angrily. "You petty Borog aren't going anywhere until we find those Toa!"
"What do you mean?" Stein said with a hint of fear. He was doomed. The Scaro found out.
"'What do you mean'?" Lyarch said. "What I mean, you parasite, is that I know everything! Two of my scouts saw your precious 'Toa' leave the ship you arrived in! They found them, but they were stupid enough to exhaust themselves to drive my men away and report everything to me!"
He then looked down in a sign of disgust. "You Borog are so dishonorable! If I had the chance, I would kill you myself! This peace is over!"
Stein was left speechless. During times like these, he always finds words to explain himself. But, when dealing with Scaro, his mind takes care of the talking. After a while, it spoke.
"Then so be it."
He then drew his gun, aimed, and fired.
