Lego owns Bionicle, Hero Factory, Evo, and Aldus.
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Chapter 24: we have to get him back
Back in the back of Grun's van, everyone couldn't help but be silent from what they had just heard from Joey and Aldus's discussion. Grun angrily gazed at the radio as he drove the van closer towards Joey's tracking signal. Joey had had so much determination to help end this war before and Aldus had taken all of that determination away with just a few words. He couldn't blame Joey for saying yes, he knew how much Galva mattered to him, but he had known Aldus long enough to know there was no way the Skull King was going to keep his end of the deal.
Evo and Steven both would've definitely agreed if Grun's thoughts had been addressed. For one thing, the name of the people fighting the Skull Gang, was the Protection Army, and Grun hadn't proven that name to be an oxymoron. Plus, Skull King had even admitted to being a traitor, choosing power over friendship. If that didn't prove further that Aldus was cleverly deceptive, they didn't know what would.
Galva was more worried than the rest. Even if Aldus really did have a way to extract Joey's powers, there was no way Aldus was going to let him go. Most villains and crime lords she had heard of, rarely ever took risks like that. If Joey's powers could be extracted, Aldus was either going to kill him, or keep him as a slave for the rest of his life. Though he would most likely keep Joey as a slave since he could craft any grade of weapon. With someone like that at Aldus's disposal, he could do so much more damage, and Joey would have to live under a cruel leader who would force him to work without rest, and the guilt of building weapons capable of harming hundreds of people, for the rest of his life. A life she would not want for Joey, after all he had done for her. 'A good person doesn't deserve to be forced to do something like that anyways'. Galva thought.
Everyone's thoughts were interrupted as a Protection Army Soldier decided to speak up:"What do we do now sir"?
Grun looked to the side in thought for a while before answering: "We can keep listening to Joey's conversations with the Skull King, or we could go get Joey back". Then facing the road as he considered both options. "Both options are risky. If Skull King finds the speaker, he'll easily be found out as a spy rather than a prisoner. And if we go try to break Joey out, we risk casualties".
If they remained inside the van and kept listening in on Aldus and Joey, maybe Joey could've gotten something out of him, make him reveal confidential information vital to their victory. Aldus had not seemed to notice the speaker/tracker in Joey's pocket, or if he had, he hadn't revealed that he had noticed it. Grun growled a bit. 'That's the thing about Aldus, you never CAN tell what that guy is thinking or what he's going to do next. Sometimes it seems like he KNOWS what other people are thinking before they do'. Grun resisted the urge to shudder at that thought. The longer they allowed Joey to stay there, the more likely Joey's life was to be endangered. 'Still, we need the information'. Grun thought. As cruel as it might seem to send his friend into the line of fire like that, Joey had agreed to be a part of this war, so he wouldn't be going in against his own will.
Then Grun considered the other option: Go in and rescue Joey, to prevent the possibility of Aldus killing him. As valuable as some extra information would be, they now knew the location of Aldus's base. All Grun had to do was make a call to his other Soldiers, and they could ambush Aldus's forces, ending this war forever. No more fighting. No more struggling. No more hiding. Now was their chance to win, and possibly put an end to Aldus and schemes forever. Whether Aldus would surrender or go down fighting, Grun would be more than happy with leaving that up to him.
'Better yet, why not go in'? Grun thought, looking at his Soldiers and friends. Joey wasn't just some soldier after all, he was Grun's best friend. Sure, sometimes Grun would say Joey's big heartlight was a weakness, and sometimes a disadvantage, but it was also the reason why Grun knew he would do the same for him. 'There is no greater courage than that of a man willing to lay down his life for his friends'. Grun remembered Joey saying. Grun smiled then, knowing now what he was going to decide. Plus, all of his soldiers had seen the good male that Joey was. As much as Grun truly despised casualties, and knew that there would be many, he knew that these males and females were more than willing to die trying to save Joey and jump at the best chance of also saving the world, possibly for good.
Grun smiled at his Soldiers and friends, asking: "So who's in for staying in this van like a coward, while our enemies laugh at us and seek world domination"?
No one answered.
Grun smirked. "That's what I figured. I'll make some calls to our friends".
Galva immediately raised her hand to Grun, a concern crossing her mind. When Grun noticed her in the rear view mirror, she spoke: "Are you sure you can get him out? In one piece I mean? It sounded like there was an army in there".
Sure, Galva knew that the few people in this van were not the only allies that Grun could have, but that didn't stop her from worrying about the hundreds of murmurs on the other side of the tracking/audio device. Also, judging from the first few fights, the Skull Army had more experience with weapons than the Protection Army did. No matter how many people Grun had under his command, there was no way everyone was getting out alive. Grun was one of the most experienced out of all of them, so he might be fine, but what of the others? 'What of Joey'? Galva wondered worriedly. 'Would they be able to cover him? Would Joey even be able to make it out alive if his powers had been extracted, despite the Soldiers best efforts'?
Grun noticed and easily understood Galva's concern, responding calmly: "I'm not so sure about getting him out in one piece, but I promise we'll all try our hardest'.
Evo raised a hand next. "I have a better idea. We distract the guards and send someone else in to get Joey out. Hopefully he'll have the Nui Power within him when this happens".
Grun's smile grew a bit wider when he heard that just sending in a few of his stealthiest soldiers in while the guards were distracted, it would avoid any cause of alarm, and things wouldn't get messy. Sure, they would still ambush the base, but Grun decided it would be best if they had gotten Joey out first, considering Aldus had a way to make him normal again. Grun scoffed that idea. 'Like Aldus had a way of extracting the Nui Power from someone else. A feat like that hasn't been accomplished in years'. That detail, was something he would explain in full detail at another time.
"He will, don't worry". Grun told him.
"Yeah, no one's ever been able to pull off something like that with these relics-" Steven stopped himself there, making it sound like he had ended the statement there, when he saw a look from Grun that shouted: 'Not now'!
Evo had noticed this however, but despite his curiosity, he decided to remain silent. There were bigger things to worry about right now, so there was no time to try and get Grun to explain why he had stopped Steven from speaking further.
Suddenly, Galva spoke up: "What if Skull King isn't kidding and he really does have a way"?
Sure, she had heard what Steven had said about no one being able to pull off such a stunt, but was there still a slight possibility that Aldus wasn't lying about THAT? Things had changed so much in the past year after all. First, an armored vigilante, capable of taking on many thugs alone, emerged in Tommyville to stop the MARL from destroying the entire state. Then the Bioformers War had reached their planet, a war that was evidently still continuing based on the news reports in Maya. If all of that stuff was possible, she honestly couldn't see how Aldus's promise of extracting all of that power Joey currently held within him, at least a LITTLE bit possible. If it was, than it would only make the Protection Army's struggle much harder.
Grun's answer to that question surprised her, and everyone else in the van: "Then we'll have to take Aldus head on".
Steven widened his eyes in concern for his friend. "You DO realize that that's nuts, right"? Grun asked. "He has superpowers and we don't".
'As if taking on the Skull Gang's forces won't be difficult enough'! Steven thought. 'Now we may have to fight their powerful and unpredictable enemy'?! Chances of winning a fight like that were as realistic as the possibility of Matoro surviving that Muaka attack, had Kopaka never arrived in time to save him. Plus, Grun was proposing THIS plan in the case that Joey's powers would be gone. If that plan didn't lessen their odds, Steven didn't know what else would.
"It's a risk we're gonna have to take". Grun said. Then looking at everyone in his rear view mirror. "All of us".
Evo, Galva, and the other three soldiers all nodded, deciding that if they were to lose this fight, it would only make sense if they all lost together. Seeing that his opinion in going against that last plan was outnumbered, he simply slumped in his seat, mentally preparing for the fight to come. 'At least Grun's calling in all of his forces'. Steven thought to himself. In a fight as intense as this, they were going to need all of the help they could muster.
"So lock and load when we pull over". Grun ordered. "If things go right tonight, then our little "street wars" will finally end".
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Kopaka, Matoro, and Muakas are owned by Lego. Sorry for both the shortness and the lateness of this chapter! I promise I'll try to get each chapter posted on time! What do you all think of the story so far? Please feel free to leave a review and have a God-blessed day! XD