"Follow me," Kulagi said, as he led the small group of Matoran down a flight of stairs. There were now eight of them; in addition to Kulagi and Triki, there was Sufina, Agni, Glax, another Ga-Matoran, and two Po-Matoran. Agni, Sufina, and the others were all armed with Kanoka launchers, and had been the ones firing from the rooftop earlier to distract the Dark Hunters who had cornered Kulagi and Triki. But while there was determination in their little troop, they only had a few low level Kanoka between them. They wouldn't be able to fight their way out.
But Kulagi didn't intent to go out in a blaze of fired discs. He had another idea.
"Where are we going then?" Glax asked. "Venturing into the street now would be suicide!"
"We're not going to go out onto the street," Kulagi said. "We're heading into the basement."
"That doesn't seem like a good place to make an escape," Glax countered.
"We might be able to fortify it, or find a decent hiding spot," one of the Po-Matoran suggested.
"Nope, I said I'd find a way out for you, and that's what I'm intending to do," Kulagi said, now entering the stairway that led to the basement. "Have your Kanoka at ready, in case there's any Rahi down here. Already got attacked by some Kinloka, and a prolonged attack might give away our position."
Agni drew out another lightstone as they entered the darkened basement. "It doesn't look like there are any Rahi down here," he said.
"Good," Kulagi said. "Now spread out and look for a tub."
"A what now?" Glax asked, exasperated.
"A tub," Kulagi repeated. "Or some other type of holding container, really."
"Would you mind backing up and explaining your thought process here, Kanoka Maker?" Agni asked.
"Fine," Kulagi said with a shrug. "You're trying to get into those old protodermis pipes that run beneath the city. Back in its golden age, lots of these laboratories were purifying protodermis that had to get sent to those pipes. They would store their purified protodermis in the basements..."
"And then from there send it down into the pipeline!" Sufina finished.
"Exactly," Kulagi said. "This building looks like it's was once a lab of some type long ago, so there must be a connection to the main pipes down here somewhere."
"How would you know so much about Ga-Metru's infrastructure?" the Ga-Matoran asked.
Kulagi shrugged. "Okay, so I've had to hide out in some lab basements before. And I have explored the abandoned pipes in other sections of the Metru before, where they're a little more accessible."
"Were you surveying or something?" the Po-Matoran asked.
"Nope, he was a-lookin' for limit-off protodermis for Kanoka making!" Triki said.
The Matoran glared at him, but Kulagi merely shrugged again. "Okay, so I was hiding from the Vahki most of the time. Now we're hiding from the Dark Hunters. Do you want my expertise on this matter or what?"
"Kanoka Maker?" Agni grumbled. "More like common criminal."
"No, we're totally unique criminals," Triki put in. "Common ones usually much uglier."
"Okay, forgetting about your past, there's still another issue," Glax said. "Even if we find this drainage pipe, it'll be too small for us to fit through. How will that do us any good?"
"That's where my Kanoka expertise will come in handy," Kulagi said. "Now spread out, it must be down here somewhere."
The Matoran started searching through the basement. It was quite dusty and dark, and they only had the one lightstone to illuminate the room. There was also a lot of old lab equipment stored in the basement, and then had to move it around. But finally, Sufina discovered the drain in the far corner, behind a couple of damaged purification filters.
As Kulagi and Agni struggled to move the equipment out of the way, Glax studied the small drainage pipe. "That's still too small for even a miniature Hoto Bug," he said.
"Then we'll just change the size," Kulagi said. He fitted his Enlarging disc into his launcher and took careful aim at the pipe. He fired, and it suddenly expanded until it was more than large enough for a Matoran to slide down.
"Just need utilize some Kanoka powers in the right place, and then almost anything is possible," Kulagi said.
"How do we know it goes all the way down?" Glax asked. "What if it shrinks before it reaches the main pipe?"
"We wouldn't necessarily need to reach the main pipe," Sufina said. "The offshoots grow gradually longer as more pipes feed into it. We shouldn't have to go too far down until we reach one that is normally Matoran-sized."
"All the same, it could just lead to a dead end," Glax continued. "Who would be crazy to go down this without making sure first?"
Glax was suddenly pushed aside by Triki, who yelped, "Indoor protodermis slide!" and jumped into the opened pipeline. They heard his cries of glee as he slid down, out of sight.
"There are some of us here who don't mind taking a few risks," Kulagi said with a grin. He called down the pipe, "Triki, can you hear me? Did you make it to the end? Is there enough room down there?"
"Wicked fun," Triki's response echoed up. "Plenty of play-room here. Want to ride again!"
"Seems plenty safe," Kulagi said. He gestured to Glax. "After you."
"Yeah, I'll go last," Glax grumbled.
"I'll go next then," Sufina said, and she leapt down into the enlarged pipe. Once she had reached the bottom, she called back, "It's safe, come on down."
"Well, hurry up," Kulagi said. "We don't want the Kanoka's powers to wear off."
As the other Matoran slid down the pipe, Agni nodded at Kulagi. "Okay, I'll give credit where it's due, this is a nice plan."
"Before you go, I do need to know where the closest Matoran-sized entrance is," Kulagi said. "Actually, to be safe, tell me where the second closest entrance is."
"Why would you need to know that?" Glax asked, suspicious again.
"It's so that I can make it in," Kulagi said. "I can't go with you this time, because somebody needs to cover up this pipe in case the Dark Hunters do come down here. It'll be easier for one Matoran to get past them than for a whole troop of Matoran, and I have ways to get around them faster on my own."
"You can say that, but you'll probably just get captured," Agni pointed out.
"So be it," Kulagi said. "Sufina and the rest of you are safe for now, so I don't mind sacrificing myself to thrown them off your trail."
"Fair enough," Agni said, and quickly gave Kulagi directions. He strapped his Kanoka launcher on his back, and prepared to slide down the pipe. "Until we meet again, Onu-Matoran."
As Agni departed, taking his lightstone with him, Kulagi glanced through his bag of Kanoka. "I thought I had a suitable Shrinking disc in here somewhere," he complained.
"If you're after a Shrinking disc, use this one instead," Glax said, handing Kulagi a Ko-Metru Kanoka.
Kulagi peered down at the Kanoka in the low light. "Is that a power level six Kanoka? Where'd you get this?"
"Didn't get it anywhere," Glax responded. "Made it myself. You aren't the only Kanoka Maker in these parts."
"Really?" Kulagi said, genuinely interested. "We'll have to talk about this more when this is over."
"Looking forward to it, Onu-Matoran," Glax said, as he stepped up to the edge of the pipe. "Good luck against those Hunters." With that, he slid down the pipe and out of sight.
With the last Matoran gone, Kulagi fired the Shrinking Kanoka at the pipe, returning it to near its normal size. Then he moved the purification filters and other equipment back to its original position, so that any Dark Hunter who entered the basement would have no idea what route they had taken. Now it was his turn to escape.
Kulagi returned to the first level and glanced out the door. It was now dark out, with only a few stars visible in the sky. Luckily, being an Onu-Matoran, Kulagi had decent night vision, and was able to verify that the street around him was indeed empty. He stayed to the shadows and narrow allies, and made his way through the Metru. Occasionally, he caught sight of Dark Hunters in the distance, but he planned his route so he didn't cross paths with any of them. His process was no different than when he used to sneak around Vahki guards, although the Vahki usually had more predictable patrol routes.
Finally, Kulagi reached his destination. It was not the entrance to the underground protodermis pipes, but rather the wreckage of his Hover-Bike. He planned to give the Dark Hunters a bit of a show before he departed, so as to push their search area away from his friends.
His Hover-Bike was exactly where he had crashed it, but it was guarded. Kulagi recognized the Dark Hunter as the blue one that had attacked him earlier. It was Krekka, and he was staring absentmindedly into the dark away from Kulagi. Kulagi snuck closer to him and loaded in a Teleportation Kanoka disc. He fired it, and Krekka vanished from the spot.
"Even with a power level six disc, that teleportation won't take him too far away," Kulagi muttered to himself. "I need to get back in the air before he returns."
Kulagi pulled out the Po-Metru Regeneration Kanoka that Huaju had given him, and fired it at the damaged blades of his Hover-Bike. The Kanoka repaired the blade, but it wasn't a perfect fix since it was still bent oddly. Still, it would have to do. Kulagi pushed his bike up and scanned for any other damage, and then jumped on and started it up.
He heard heavy footsteps behind him, and turned to see Krekka racing down the street. "Hey, you cannot take that," he shouted. "I was guarding that bike."
"Tough luck," Kulagi said, revving the engine. His Hover-Bike lifted off the ground and started to accelerate forward. But Kulagi needed some space before he could get enough lift to fly.
Krekka was not going to let him get away that easily. He activated a Kanoka launcher on his shoulder, which popped up and fired a disc at Kulagi. Kulagi glanced back just in time to see it, and narrowly dodged it, and it struck one of the buildings instead. Before Krekka could fire again, Kulagi had flown out of range, and was rising above the rooftops.
The skies above Ga-Metru were also utterly dark, as none of the normal Ga-Matoran light sources were currently operational. In the far distance, Kulagi could see the glow of Ta-Metru and the shadow of the Coliseum, but they felt far removed from the war torn streets of Ga-Metru.
He heard shouts below him, and realized that he had been sighted. Some Dark Hunters on the ground lifted their launchers and fired round stone projectiles up into the air. But their aim was off in the darkness, and Kulagi was flying too fast, so they didn't hit anything. But Kulagi felt obligated to return, so he circled back around and then dove at them from behind, firing Kanoka discs from his dual launchers.
The Dark Hunters dove for cover, but some did get pegged by the discs. They were just low powered discs, so Kulagi wasn't expecting any real damage to be done, but his attack had certainly scattered them. They tried to return fire as he blasted away, but it was too little, too late.
"All part of the plan," Kulagi muttered to himself. He would lead the Dark Hunters across the Metru for a little bit, away from the entrances that would lead them to his friends. Then, when convinced he had thrown them far enough off the trail, he would sneak off and double back himself.
And to his delight, his plan was working. The darkness matched with Kulagi's speed and maneuverability in the air made it difficult for them to plan their attacks, decreasing their earlier effectiveness. This time, they weren't springing the trap, so they had lost their element of surprise against Kulagi. He herded them through the streets as he would the Vahki when they had chased him.
However, Kulagi had never escaped from all his Vahki chasses. The white Keerahk Vahki would often be able to outthink his plans and get him in the end. All it would take would be for one Dark Hunter to be just as keen as the Kanoka Maker.
Kulagi caught the blur of white out of the corner of his eye, and then did a sharp turn to avoid the collision. The white six-limbed Dark Hunter was back, and he had leapt up from hiding in one of the buildings and had almost caught Kulagi. It was Kavihkli. Kulagi now got a better look at him. Although he was tall, he was also very slender, with a large head complete with mandibles and deep orange eyes. He did indeed have two pairs of arms; his upper arms appeared somewhat normal, and he held his scythe weapon with them. His lower arms were shorter but ended in fierce claws, capable of slicing through solid protodermis. He was certainly a fearsome sight to behold.
"Back for some more, huh?" Kulagi asked, firing his level six Freezing Kanoka at the Dark Hunter. But Kavihkli smoothly ducked to the side and the disc missed. Next, he swung his scythe, which was already glowing green, and fired a glob of green gel at Kulagi. He pulled up, but the gel hit one of his side blades and ate right through it.
"Wow, poison, agility, and flight," Kulagi shouted. "You Dark Hunters are quite the mixed bags of powers, aren't you?"
Kavihkli made no response and sprang forward again. Kulagi decided it was time to up his game, and sped off deeper into the Metru, leaving the Dark Hunters on the ground behind. But Kavihkli was keeping up, having switched to flight mode himself, with his lower clawed arms folded up across his midriff to increase his aerodynamics.
"So this Dark Hunter can fly," Kulagi said to himself. "But how well can he maneuver?"
Up ahead, Kulagi sighted an offshoot of the Ga-Metru canal systems, with rushing water cascading down the path. He dipped his Hover-Bike down and skimmed the top of the water, and Kavihkli followed. Kulagi glanced back to see that the Dark Hunter was gaining on him, and shouted, "I hope you can keep up."
Kulagi took a hard right, following a sharp turn in the canal. This particular waterway zigzagged through the Metru, and the water was currently speeding through it quickly, creating cascades that sent mist up into the air. It was a dangerous route to fly, and one mistake could cause a devastating crash into the rapids below. But the danger just increased the thrill of the chase, and Kulagi sped up, turning the sharp corners with style. However, Kavihkli was able to keep up, although the many turns prevented him from throwing any more poison attacks.
But Kulagi wasn't finished fighting back. Up ahead, he saw the remains of a damaged building that had fallen into the canal. He could easily fly up and over it, but that would make it too easy for the Dark Hunter to follow. Instead, he dipped low, aiming for a small gap in the corner of the canal. He just managed to squeeze through it, with his blades skimming the surface of the water as he did so. But once he cleared the structure, he spun around and fired his Enlarging disc, and the remains of the building suddenly expanded in size and filled the entire width of the canal.
Kavihkli had angled down to follow Kulagi, but now his way was blocked by the enlarged building. He was unable to slow down and fly over it, so instead he decided to go through it. He sprang out of flight mode and threw a glob of poison from his staff. The poison struck the material in his way and melted a hole clear through it. The opening was still not big enough for Kavihkli, but he unfolded his lower arms and swung his claws, which batted aside the debris that got in his way. He smashed his way through the entire structure, and popped out the other side, ready continue the chase.
But Kulagi was waiting for him, with a Kanoka already in his launcher. As Kavihkli burst out from the remains of the structure, Kulagi fired his disc with the code 645, and it struck Kavihkli in the face. The Dark Hunter recovered as the disc flew back to Kulagi's launcher.
I didn't expect you to get a shot in, Matoran," Kavihkli said, his voice like the hiss of a serpent. "Now it's my turn." He swung his staff, expecting to launch another glob of poison. But nothing materialized at the end of his staff, much to his surprise.
"Yeah, about that," Kulagi commented. "That was a Removes Poison disc I hit you with. You're not going to be throwing any more toxic globs for a while."
Kavihkli sneered; he knew his poison powers would return when the Kanoka's effects eventually wore off, but now he was limited in his ranged attacks against this Matoran. He sprang out, ready to catch the Hover-Bike, but Kulagi had already taken off.
Kavihkli followed the Hover-Bike down the canals, even as the waters raged around him. But the prolonged chase was starting to tire him, and Kulagi was gaining ground. Forcing himself to speed up, Kavihkli turned a corner that Kulagi had just flown around, but all that faced him was empty air. He glanced down and saw that the canal emptied into a natural depression, forming a glittering waterfall. Furthermore, there were another dozen canals also flowing into the depression, and the roar of the waterfalls drowned out any other noise, including the engines of a Hover-Bike.
Kavihkli descended and glanced around, but there was no sign of the Onu-Matoran and his Hover-Bike. He glanced back at the waterfall he had just flown over, wondering if there was a passageway behind him. But when he swung his staff through the water, it hit only rock.
Kavihkli quickly checked the other waterfalls, but they didn't appear to have any openings behind them either. He was hesitant to fly directly through them, because the water would disrupt his flight abilities, and he was not a good swimmer. After a thorough search, Kavihkli had to give up and concede that the Matoran had successfully escaped him. Grumbling, he headed back towards the other Dark Hunters.
Kulagi grinned from his vantage point. He was indeed hidden behind one of the waterfalls, but it was only a small opening at the base of the waterfall. He had watched as Kavihkli had checked further up, where the stone wall was just behind the water. The Dark Hunter hadn't checked further down, and so had passed Kulagi's hiding spot. And, in fact, Kulagi only knew of this particular location because he had once hidden there from a Bordakh Vahki.
Once Kavihkli was long gone, Kulagi flew out of the waterfall, and headed towards the location that Agni had provided him with. He stayed low to the ground and flew slowly to keep the sound of his engine down. He was ready to call an end to the chase, especially since he was wet and freezing from hiding behind the waterfall for so long.
He reached the designated building that the protodermis pipe entrance was located in and landed on the roof. It was a former pump site, now defunct, but it had a maintenance hatch that had been used in the days when the pipeline was in operation. Now it would let Kulagi get down and rejoin his friends.
He unpacked his Kanoka discs and other equipment from the Hover-Bike, as well as his portable forge. But before he left, he knew he had one last task to do. After all, if he left his Hover-Bike on the roof, no matter how well hidden it was, the Dark Hunters would surely find it, and then it would lead them to Kulagi and the others. That meant Kulagi had to get rid of his Hover-Bike.
"I really don't want to do this, but it's for the best," Kulagi said solemnly. He jammed the acceleration down, and then started the Hover-Bike up. It rose into the air, riderless, and blasted over the skies of Ga-Metru. But before it was out of range, Kulagi fired a Teleportation Kanoka at it. It vanished overhead, but he heard it reappear a dozen blocks to the north, and a short time later he heard a crash echo across the Metru. The Dark Hunters would surely find the crash site, but it wouldn't lead them to Kulagi or the rest of the Matoran in hiding.
"When this is over, I hope I can find the remains and get it fixed up," Kulagi said. "I sure did like that bike."
But if Kulagi had to sacrifice something, he would choose his beloved Hover-Bike over the safety of his friends any day. With that done, he grabbed the last of his equipment and made his way down through the building.