ULTIMATE BIONICLE
Chapter 27: Ice Cold Rage
The Legion of Toa rested in the canyon, tired and badly beaten from the battle that had just ensued. Onua was still not conscious after being hit by Vorak's blast.
They had managed to drive Nidhiki and the others to retreat. The key to their victory was the mysterious disappearance of Krekka, and three of the Vahki. Also, much to the grief of the Toa, Ehrye had died during Kopaka's battle with Keerakh, which had made its way into the cave the four Matoran had been hiding in.
"Where are Nuju and Gali?" Nokama asked, concerned by the absence, as well as the fact Krekka had not returned either. "We don't know, Nokama." Vakama replied.
"Shouldn't we look for them?" Tehutti asked. "No," Tahu said, "None of us are in that good of a condition to go looking." Tehutti sighed deeply.
"I can go." Whenua said. They all looked at him. Despite his injuries, he was the most able to do it. "Are you sure you want to?" Tahu asked.
"That…won't be necessary…" A voice said, turning the corner in the canyon wall. They all turned their heads in eager surprise, only to find it most unpleasant. Standing there, badly hurt and holding himself up with the wall was Nuju. He was bleeding and out of breath, but strangely he had splats of blood in areas where there were no wounds.
Nuju limped his way over to his comrades, who looked at him; wondering the horror of the unknown events that had transpired. The most disturbing fact of all however; was that Gali was not with him. Nuju had on his face; the most enraged face that they had ever seen. He stopped and looked at all the Toa that made up their Legion.
Nokama immediately sensed a strongest feeling of hate inside of Nuju. A type of hate she had ever felt before. It was not just an emotion; it seemed like an unforgivable, evil presence that lingered in the air.
"Are you ok?" Matau asked, breaking the silence. Nuju cracked his neck, "I'm amazed that you all even have the guts to call yourselves Toa…" Nuju said hatefully. "What are you talking about?" Vakama asked, taken off guard by the statement. Nuju ignored Vakama.
Nuju walked up to Pohatu and hoisted him to his feet. "So," Nuju said, "Tell me why Zadakh got away from you. Is he too strong for you? You're a second level Toa. Why couldn't you defeat him?" Pohatu stood there speechless due to puzzlement. Nuju punched Pohatu in the gut, sending him to his knees in pain. "What the hell!" Tahu yelled, helping Pohatu. Nuju still ignored.
Nuju stopped in front of Takanuva. "So you're supposed to be the 'great Toa of Light'?" Nuju asked tauntingly. He then hit Takanuva with a blast of ice. "Some great Toa." Nuju said sarcastically.
Nuju then stepped in front of Nokama. Whenua immediately got up and stood between them. "If you think you're laying a hand on Nokama, then you've got another thing coming. Now what's gotten into you, Nuju? And where's Gali?" Whenua asked cautiously. Nuju's face turned from anger to grief. "Gali's dead…"
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One hour earlier…
Desperately, Nuju limped across the sand and stone, following a trail that the Vahki had left behind. "I have to find Gali." He thought to himself. He started wondering why those Vahki were even there in the first place. Had the other Toa lost?
He reached the end of the trail at the ledge of a crater. At the bottom of it he saw a blue figure. "That has to be Gali!" He thought out loud. He tried to run down into the crater, but his injuries caused him to trip. Nuju fell down the slope, to the very bottom of the crater. He shook his head; stunned from the fall. As he looked up he was struck with horror.
The blue figure was definitely Gali, and was tied by chains to a boulder. Nuju got up and walked in front of her and fell to his knees. She had stab wounds all over her body, and it was at this point that he realized that she was not breathing. "No… Gali… GALI!" He shouted in unbearable anguish. "DAMN IT DAMN IT, DAMN IT!" He yelled, punching the ground as hard as he could.
Nuju slowly got to his feet. The air around him started getting colder and frost started to form where his feet touched the ground as he felt the ice cold rage surging through his body. He caressed Gali's cheek, leaving frost on her mask. "I'm sorry, Gali…" Nuju then turned away, not being able to bear seeing Gali in that state.
He then realized what he had to do. "They can't have gotten far." Nuju set the attachment on his mask to thermal and he immediately spotted the Vahki scaling the side of the canyon. He then went after them.
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The Vahki marched along the edge of the canyon, heading in the direction of where the other Toa were. The edge was not bare, but littered with boulders and buildings. However, erosion had made them too unstable to inhabit, so the buildings and what's left of them were long since abandoned.
"We should be able to take the other Toa by surprise from up here. Despite how strong Nidhiki and Vorak are, I don't think they can take on ten Toa." Nuurakh said, walking in front of the line.
"Do you think that Turaga Dume will be mad that we killed the water Nuva?" Bordakh asked. "Nah," Zadakh said, "What's one Toa gone?"
"True," Bordakh said, "But perhaps we should have taken Nuju." Bordakh pointed out. "Good idea," said Nuurakh, "Let's go get him."
The three of them jumped off the canyon and ran to where they Krekka's unconscious body lay; knowing that Nuju's was nearby.
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"This doesn't make any sense." Zadakh said in alarm. "He was right here." All they could see was the imprint in the rock that was left behind when Nuju hit the ground.
"It's so strange," Nuurakh said, "There's no sign of him…"
"Here's a sign!" Nuju yelled, plunging one of his crystal spikes into Nuurakh's head. The Vahki dropped his weapons, and fell forward, dead. Nuju stepped forward and pulled his weapon out of the Vahki's head. "So," Nuju said, looking at the other two, "Who's next?"
The air was chilled beyond reality, making the Vahki shiver. The ground under Nuju's very feet was freezing with ice and spreading outwards.
Zadakh growled, "You bastard!" He ran at Nuju, ready to swing his staff. Nuju blasted him into a wall with a powerful telekinetic attack. Bordakh was so scared that he didn't even notice that the ice that was freezing the ground had just frozen his feet as well.
Nuju started to walk towards the water Vahki. "D-don't come any closer!" He yelled at Nuju fearfully. Something about his eyes projected a haunting image. That no matter what Bordakh did, he was going to die. Nuju rushed forward quickly, making Bordakh cower in fear. The Vahki moved its arms away from its face and looked up at Nuju. He was staring right down at him.
"Do you fear me, Vahki? Do I strike fear in your very soul?" Nuju asked coldly. Bordakh nodded slightly. Nuju pulled him up into a standing position. "It doesn't feel good does it? To be trapped against your will, at the mercy of someone else! You picked the wrong Toa to mess with! I'm sure Gali's death was painful. But I bet she never cowered like you. It just goes to show how the so called mighty have fallen doesn't it? I hope you enjoy feeling every molecule in you body freeze."
"No, please!" Bordakh begged. Nuju grasped Bordakh's head, and slowly starting freezing it and everything else. Bordakh let out a gasping cry before the ice consumed his entire body. Nuju then thrust his fist into Bordakh, shattering the Vahki into tiny pieces.
Nuju then turned to Zadakh, who was lying on the ground where he had landed, staring up in shock. Nuju lifted him into the air and levitated Zadakh before himself. Without even a word Nuju used his mask to slowly crushed Zadakh. He let the Vahki fall, flattened and smashed into almost nothing.
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Present time…
All the Toa looked stunned from the news. The Toa Nuva were all rendered speechless over the loss of their sister.
"Nuju…I'm so sorry." Nokama said, stepping beside Whenua. Nokama examined the blood on Nuju's body. "That's not all yours is it?" She asked. "No…" Nuju replied. "I slaughtered all of them. They got what they deserved, and I enjoyed it."
"Why would you kill them? Toa are not killers!" Vakama said angrily. "I don't care." Nuju said. "Not anymore."
Nuju's eyes suddenly trailed to Ehrye's body. Nuju looked up at everyone. He started to become so enraged that his whole body started shaking. "You let him die too!" Nuju turned around angrily and started walking away.
"Nuju wait!" Vakama yelled at him, grabbing his shoulder. Nuju pushed him away. "Why are you going?" Vakama asked.
"It's all your faults; each and every one of you. Because of you all I lost my best friend and the one person I loved more than anything else in the world. I hate all of you!" Nuju shouted angrily.
"But, Nuju…" Onewa said, stepping forward. Nuju turned around aggressively. "If any of you even think of following me, I'll kill you myself!"
Nuju made his way up a path on the canyon, not looking back at the Legion of Toa. They were left in their own world of sadness and sorrow, wondering if they will ever see Nuju again. Whenua started to wonder if he would act the same should he ever be in Nuju's situation.
As Nuju reached the top and looked down upon the Legion, the sun cast his shadow over them, covering them in darkness.
Author's Notes: Hope you enjoyed the chapter. There is a picture of elite Rorzakh now on my Brickshelf gallery. If you want to see it, click the homepage link in my profile.