Chapter 3

"And of course there are the venom flyers," Norik was saying. "They're flying Rahi that the Visorak control. They are dispatched to take down flying Rahi and have Rhotuka that can neutralize the natural or artificial flight abilities of a target."

"Great," said Gravon. "Anything else that can kill us?"

"I haven't even mentioned the Zivon yet," replied the Rahaga.

"Oh right," said Takanuva, remembering Vakama's story of the thirty-foot tall beast. It had destroyed a significant section of Le-Metru in its battle with the Tahtorak. Scars from that battle still marked the metru even today. "I hope we don't meet that thing."

"You better hope so," said Norik. "Because we barely won last time, and we don't have a giant lizard to help us now."

"Are we even going to fight any Visorak?" asked Vamkoda. "I thought Turaga Vakama disbanded the Horde?"

"Yes but that was over a thousand years ago," said Reymar. "The Brotherhood has reassembled the Horde under a new leader."

Nidhiki stood off by himself, leaning on the railing and looking out at the sea. Lhikan walked over and joined him. "Anything of interest out there?" he asked.

"Just that," said Nidhiki, pointing off at the horizon. A chain of islands could barely be seen through the fog. "Beyond those islands are Odina, the Dark Hunter stronghold."

Lhikan focused his eyes on the islands. "So that's where the legendary Odina lies, huh? You know, Toa all over the universe would love to know where it is."

"Yes, and Toa all over the universe would die assaulting it," replied Nidhiki. "The Shadowed One keeps his island well-guarded. I don't think there are enough Toa in the universe anymore to take Odina."

"I suppose you're right," said Lhikan. "Maybe one day we will bring justice to that dark Karzahni-hole. You okay seeing it again? This is the first time you've seen it in some time."

Nidhiki gave a mirthless smile. "Yes, the last time I saw it was over a thousand years ago when Krekka and I set out for a job for who we thought was Turaga Dume. It's the longest I've ever been from Odina. And apparently, they went and started a war over our deaths, it's nice to know you're so loved." He laughed bitterly. "That island was where I lived, but it was never home. I hated it and still do. There's nothing but bitter memories there."

"Except for her," said Lhikan compassionately.

Nidhiki sighed. "Except for Lariska, yes. But that possibility died long ago."

Lhikan put his hand on Nidhiki's shoulder. "That one did, but there will be others in the future."

Nidhiki nodded but didn't take his eyes off the far-off island. His mind was back on Odina, remembering training missions, skulking around on four insectoid legs, and a certain female Mormua…

After several days of travel, the Nahi Nui Navy finally arrived at the island of Visorak. Nothing much could be seen from the shore, but what could be was not promising. The ruins of a watchtower stood on a decaying dock, covered in webs that glittered in the moonlight. "I was hoping to at least get my feet on solid ground before seeing any sign of Visorak," said Potan as the boats were brought into the shallows.

"Probably the first of many disappointments," said Reymar.

Takanuva stepped onto the railing and jumped into the water. "How many Visorak are on the island, you think?" Takanuva asked the Rahaga.

"Hard to say," said Kualus as he leaped off the boat. "Could be as few as a hundred, but if the Brotherhood knows what's on the island, they could have reinforced the garrison."

Vamkoda walked up to the watchtower ruins and examined them. "Looks old," he observed. "Was this built by the Makuta?"

Pouks came up next to him. He scraped at the stone blocks and eyed it closely. "I don't believe so. This doesn't look like the kind of stone the Brotherhood usually uses. Plus I don't think the Visorak would destroy it."

"We better scout the terrain, Takanuva," said Lhikan. "We don't want to walk into a trap."

Takanuva nodded and looked back at Kongu. "Send them out, Commander."

"Roger, Takanuva!" said Kongu with a salute. He signaled to two Le-Matoran who rose into the air on Kewa birds. The Gukko Force used four mounts: the small Kewa for scouting missions, Kahu as standard fighters, Gukko birds which were used as heavy VTOL gunners and bombers, and Nui-Rama which often acted as cargo haulers. The two scouts flew off toward the interior of the island.

"And now the hardest part," said Jaller. "We wait."

Thirty minutes passed and the Le-Matoran had yet to return. The Toa debated with each other on how they should proceed. The scouts shouldn't have taken that long to scout the island so they feared something must have happened to them. "I see no choice but to search for them and find the disk ourselves," said Takanuva. "It's too dangerous to send out a small force, we have to stick together."

"And what are we even looking for?" asked Potan. "We know it's a disk but I highly doubt it's out in the open."

"I'm not sure, but it's a good guess it'll be in a temple similar to one on Nahi Nui," said Takanuva.

"We should split into three groups," said Nidhiki. "One to the east, one to the west, and one straight down the middle. We sweep across the island and meet up on the far side. One of them should see something along the way."

"Sounds good," said Takanuva. "Gravon, you will lead the eastern prong, Mateku, you can take the west. I'll lead the center group. Everyone else split up evenly among the three contingents. Let's get to it."

Takanuva led his group of about seventy-five through the misty plains, hardly able to see a foot in front of them. "I really don't like this," said Taipu. "There could be Visorak all around us and we wouldn't know it."

"I think we're alone for now," said Quurza. "I don't hear anything."

Lhikan looked over at Nidhiki. "How about a breeze to try to blow this fog away?"

"I've already thought of that," said the Toa of Air. "I won't be able to summon enough wind to disperse it for long."

"At this point, I'll take whatever I can get," said Takanuva.

"Fine, whatever." Nidhiki took out his scythe and channeled his elemental power through it. A great wind rushed across the plains, carrying the fog away. It revealed the remains of a small village directly in front of them. "What the Karzahni is this?" Nidhiki asked.

"It's ancient, whatever it is," said Hafu. "I would guess it to be seventy-five thousand years old, easy."

"Obviously Visorak didn't build this," said Piruk as he examined a doorway to a hut. It was over ten feet tall. "Was this island inhabited before?"

"Mata Nui," said Gaaki. She looked at Iruini. "Did the Makuta unleash the Visorak on a populated island that long ago?"

Iruini shook his head in disgust. "Their evil knows no bounds."

Lhikan clenched his fists. "We should have seen their treachery much sooner. Maybe we could have stopped them."

"It all seems obvious now that we look back, but we have the advantage of hindsight," said Reymar. "We didn't have the same information that we did back then. In a thousand years, we'll look back to now and second-guess our decisions based on new information we'll gain in the future."

Lhikan smiled at her. "Thanks for the logical perspective."

Reymar smiled back. "That's what I'm here for. That and saving your hides."

"Hold up!" said Quurza. "I hear something. Multiple legs, at the edge of the village."

The team grouped together, watching every angle. Now everyone could hear scuttling sounds. There were multiple creatures all around them but no one saw anything yet. "Three guesses on who our friends are," said Iruini. "And the first two don't count."

Takanuva created an orb of light on the tip of his staff. His eyes darted across the huts, trying to spot anything. "Come on, where the Karzahni are you?"

"I saw something!" Taipu gasped. "Between the huts!"

Orkahm looked to where Taipu was pointing. "Where? I don't sight-see anything!"

"It was only there a second!"

"Mata Nui, it was a Visorak wasn't it?" said Nidhiki with a shudder.

"I don't know, I think so," said Taipu.

"Twelve o'clock, Takanuva," said Jaller.

The Toa of Light turned his eyes to the front. And staring back at him were several pairs of vicious eyes. Takanuva flung a light orb at the eyes causing seven brown spiders to scatter, letting out a horrible screech. "Visorak!" he shouted as he fired light blasts at them. "Look sharp!"

"Over here too!" said Hewkii, launching a disk at a rooftop. He scored a hit and a Suukorak fell to the ground, stunned.

"Got three sneaking up the side!" said Quurza. He unleashed a sonic boom that shook a hut to rubble, crushing three Visorak beneath it.

"They're all around us!" said Nidhiki, shooting air blasts that scattered multiple Visorak at a time. "Damn spiders!"

Nuhrii launched disk after disk at the Visorak. Every time he took one out, two more took its place. "There's too many!" he shouted.

"Don't panic!" said Lhikan. "Hold your positions!"

A Vohtarak screeched and launched into a berserker charge straight at Takua. "Look out, Takua!" Nuhrii cried.

Takanuva turned and saw the danger. "Takua!" he shouted.

The Av-Matoran saw the Vohtarak too late and brought his bident to bear. Nuhrii slapped a shielding Kanoka into his launcher and fired at Takua. The disk smacked him in the side of the head, knocking his mask askew. An energy shield appeared around his body a second before the Vohtarak reached him. It bounced off him and shook itself to clear its head. It roared and bit at the shield with its mandibles.

Takanuva reached the scene and stabbed his staff into a gap into the Vohtarak's armor. It squealed briefly before Takanuva finished it off. "You all right?" he asked Takua.

"Yeah," said the Matoran as he straightened his mask. "But I would prefer if Nuhrii gives me some warning before he shoots me with a disk." He picked up the Kanoka and tossed it over to Nuhrii.

The Ta-Matoran snatched it out of the air. "Hey, at least you're alive."

A Kewa flew into the scene and the Le-Matoran dismounted next to Takanuva. "I bring news from the west, Takanuva!" he said.

"What is it?" asked the Toa.

"The two wind-riders have been found in web-cocoons and are currently being help-saved. They seem to be unharmed. A team also spotted a group of ever-ugly beings clash-fighting the Visorak to the southwest."

Takanuva pondered this. "That could be useful. I want to send out a scouting team to check out these strangers."

"The enemy of our enemy is not necessarily our friend, Takanuva," Iruini reminded him as he fired his Rhotuka at an Oohnorak.

"Right, but the enemy of our enemy is at least worth looking into. Any volunteers?"

"I'll go," said Nidhiki. "Anything to get me away from these spiders."

"I'll go with him," said Piruk. "I'm known for being rather stealthy."

"And someone has to keep an eye on them," said Orkahm.

"Good, get to it," said Takanuva.

The three took off to the southwest and Lhikan shouted after them, "Nidhiki! Remember to use your mask!"

"All right, all right!" Nidhiki called back. He sent a hurricane-force wind before him, sending a dozen Visorak flying. "Let's go, you two!"

"Everyone else, focus up!" Potan barked. "We can't let any of those spiders get a foothold!"

"That goes double for you, Malohi," said Vamkoda. He looked to his right to see his friend missing. He looked around fervently, dreading to find him being dragged off by a Visorak. But there was no sign of him. "Malohi? Where are you?" he shouted.

"No time to worry about that, Vamkoda!" said Hafu. "We need to worry about ourselves."

Half a kio to the southwest, Nidhiki, Piruk, and Orkahm were making good time. Any Visorak they saw were dispatched quickly before they could raise the alarm so they were pretty confident that they were incognito. Nidhiki eschewed using his Volitak, saying that there was little point since the two Le-Matoran would still be visible. Piruk and Orkahm were pretty sure, however, that Nidhiki just didn't like using it.

"How far are these guys?" asked Nidhiki. "Are we supposed to run into the sea?"

"It's an oversight that we did not seek-inquire on how far we had to go," said Orkahm.

"Maybe we veered too far to the west or south," suggested Piruk.

"I'll take to the air once we get to the top of this hill," said Nidhiki as the three began to scale the incline. The Toa of Air reached the top and immediately ducked behind a grouping of rocks. "Found them," he said.

The two Le-Matoran crouched down next to Nidhiki and saw seven beings fighting off two dozen Visorak only ten bio away. The seven figures had grinning faces with organic spines running down their backs and arms. Others of their kind lay dead around the battlefield. "Bula juice and kovoga," said Malohi. "What are those things?"

Nidhiki, Orkahm, and Piruk looked over at him in surprise. "Where did you quick-appear from?" asked Orkahm.

"Behind you," replied Malohi. "I thought you would need my help."

"It's just a scouting mission," said Piruk. "The more people with us, the more likely we are to be spotted."

"Don't worry, it'll be fine."

"If we get captured," said Nidhiki, "I just want to let you know that I'll blame you."

"You didn't answer my question," said Malohi before pointing down at the battle. "What are those things?"

"They're called Skakdi," replied Nidhiki. "They're a brutal and savage race from Zakaz. Allegedly, they were fairly peaceful thousands of years ago, but a member of the Brotherhood of Makuta showed up and experimented on the Skakdi, giving them powers and turning them violent. Whether that's true or not, I do not know. But here's what I do know, these particular Skakdi are some of the worst out there."

"Quick-stop!" said Orkahm. "You know these freaks?"

"Unfortunately, yes," said Nidhiki. "They're Dark Hunters, just like I was. They formed a loose team, one that stayed together mostly out of species loyalty than any kind of comradery. The green one is the leader, Zaktan. The red one, Hakann, the white one is Thok, blue, Vezok, brown, Avak, and the black one is Reidak."

"Which black one?" Malohi asked. "I see two."

Nidhiki squinted. "The black and gold one. I don't know who the black and silver one is. Never met him before."

"He seems to be deformed," Piruk observed. "He doesn't have a spine like the others."

Everyone looked closer and saw that the last Skakdi indeed did not have a spine like his allies, instead, he wore a cape. He wielded a spear with deadly skill. "Must be some sort of accident victim," Nidhiki remarked.

At that moment, Zaktan's eyes glowed red and shot lasers out, frying all of the remaining Visorak. "Whoa!" said Malohi. "That was crazy!"

"Keep quiet!" Nidhiki hissed.

Reidak looked up toward them and his eyes flashed. "Zaktan! We got spies up there!"

The green Skakdi looked up to where Reidak was indicating. "Go bring them down here."

Hakann, Thok, and Vezok charged the hill, moving at an incredible speed. "Now you've done it!" said Nidhiki, backing away. "Run!" He activated his mask but Vezok's impact vision hit the rocks and shattered them, sending chunks flying everywhere. One struck Nidhiki in the chest and knocked him to the ground, breaking his concentration. He tried to catch his breath as the three Skakdi crested the hill.

"What do we have here?" said Hakann. "A nosy Toa and three Matoran. This will be fun."

Vezok's hands lashed out and he grabbed Malohi and Piruk. The two struggled but the Skakdi's grip was just too strong. Thok's eyes settled on Nidhiki and widened in shock. "Well, I'll be a Muaka's dinner. Nidhiki, you're looking decidedly less insectoid… and dead."

Hakann glanced over at the Toa. He screwed up his face, seeming like he was trying to place Nidhiki. Finally, he studied his eyes. "You're right, it is him. I'd remember that defiant and arrogant look anywhere. So the rumors are true. You did come back."

Vezok looked like he tried to make the connection for himself but was struggling to do it. Eventually, he just gave up. "Are you sure it's him?" he asked impatiently. "What's he doing hanging out with Matoran, and why is he a Toa again?"

"I don't know, but I think we should find out," said Thok. "What's the matter, Nidhiki? Rahi got your tongue?"

"I just don't feel like talking to you, Thok," said Nidhiki.

Hakann laughed as he hauled the Toa of Air to his feet. Thok snatched up Orkahm. "Let's go see Zaktan, eh, old buddy?" said Hakann.

"Malohi," said Nidhiki, "I blame you for all this."

The Le-Matoran made a theatrical gasp of disbelief.

The three Skakdi dragged their captives back to the others and unceremoniously dropped them on the ground. Zaktan stood over them and regarded them coldly. "Obviously not Brotherhood spies, unless standards are dropping," he remarked.

"I think you'll remember this one pretty clearly," said Hakann, stooping down and grabbing Nidhiki's chin. He roughly lifted his face toward Zaktan's.

The green Skakdi chuckled. "Ah yes. Once I heard you had been brought back I knew we would meet again one day, Nidhiki."

Avak looked confused. "But he doesn't look anything like Nidhiki."

"Not all of the Resurrected return in the form they died in," said Zaktan. "If you paid any attention to the intelligence reports you would know that."

Avak grumbled as Nidhiki tore himself free of Hakann's grip. "What is the Shadowed One's interest in this island, Zaktan? What does he want?"

"The Shadowed One has no interest in this island," replied Zaktan. "We are no longer in his employ. We are Piraka now."

"Huh. It must be the oak-newest trend. We met some other ex-Dark Hunters recently," said Orkahm.

"Dartick and his team, yes," said Zaktan. "They left about the same time we did four years ago. Plus they managed to convince Lariska to come with them."

Hakann made a sound of disgust at the huntress's name.

"So you're just freelancers now?" asked Nidhiki.

"No, we have a new employer, one far more powerful than the Shadowed One," replied Zaktan. "And he has a great interest in the Kanoka Nuva located here. Which is why you're here I assume. Whether it's for profit or some kind of Toa ideal, I don't know or care. But either way, you shall not be getting your hands on that disk."

The caped Skakdi walked up to Zaktan. "Hey, Nidhiki, how's it going?" he asked.

"I thought you didn't know him," said Piruk.

"I don't," said Nidhiki.

"That's true, you don't," said Zaktan. "This is Vezon. While exploring a Makuta's lair, we stumbled across a spear that split Vezok into two beings. Vezon is the other one. He has Vezok's memories before the split and retained Vezok's tactician mind, something that Vezok now lacks. However, Vezon is also insane."

"You're just afraid I might someday take over with my incredible powers," said Vezon.

"You don't have powers," Reidak reminded him.

"Oh right."

Vezok snaked up alongside Vezon and grabbed his spear. "You'll soon not even be alive anymore!" he snarled as he tried to yank it out of Vezon's hands.

"No! Stop!" Vezon cried as they pulled back and forth on the spear. "Help! He's going to kill me!"

"Is that the same spear?" asked Nidhiki.

"Yes," said Zaktan. "Vezon likes to hang onto it for obvious reasons."

"Why don't you just fuse them back together?" asked Malohi.

"Okay, that's rude!" Vezon shouted. "Has anyone told you that you're a rude little Matoran?"

"Because we don't know if the fusion process will just be the same in reverse," said Thok. "They might form some other being and Vezok's tactical side could be lost forever. As imperfect as it is, it's too great a risk to lose that edge."

Avak pushed the two fighting "brothers" apart. "Enough! Vezon, what do you have to report from your scouting trip?"

Vezon pulled his spear away and eyed Vezok warily. Once he determined Vezok was done, he spoke. "I could see a few Visorak scouting around but they all stayed far away from me. They are gathering information and will soon be back in greater numbers. We don't have long before the next wave."

"Then we have little time to lose," said Zaktan. "Vezok, Thok, watch the prisoners. I want them alive in case they have any other information for us. But if they even think about escaping, kill them. Reidak, Avak, start excavating."

The black and brown Piraka combined their powers and started ripping large chunks of stone and earth out of the ground, digging a very big hole. Nidhiki and the three Matoran looked on nervously, trying to figure out a way to turn this all to their advantage.