Mihkoro groaned quietly as he opened his eyes. Where was he again? Forcing himself to sit up, ignoring as the pounding in his head grew more intense, the dark Toa looked around. He was still in the Great Temple, still alive, and as far as he could see, utterly alone. Slowly the events of the siege returned to his memory, and his gaze soon fell to where Bakuma lay motionless and lifeless, his now vacant eyes holding a look of surprise, not to mention panic. A ways away from the mutant's body lay another, though from the angle he was at, Mihkoro couldn't tell who it was. Struggling to stand, relying on his glaive as though it were a walking stick to lean on, he moved closer to the unidentified figure, but even as he did so utter mortification and fear bubbled up in his heart.
"No, it can't be… Mata Nui, not her, please not her!" However, his pleading came too late. Hera was already gone. Tears began streaming down his face as Mihkoro dropped to his knees, his glaive clattering to the floor as he shakily pulled the Lightning Toa's limp and cold frame close to his chest. Of all the people that could have perished, why did it have to be her? As he knelt there in the darkness, his anguish began to boil into rage. Roodaka had gone too far now, and even if it killed him to do it, Mihkoro swore he would have his revenge. This was just too low of a blow to be left un-repaid. Shakily he stood, tears still rolling down his darkly tanned cheeks as he stared down into his wife's pale face, her expression frozen in shock and pain. Hands trembling the whole time, Mihkoro reached down, picking his glaive up in one hand and closing Hera's vacant eyes with the other. There was so much he had still wanted to do with her, to show her. Now all he had was…
"Where is my son?" Looking around in worry, the dark Toa began searching, desperate to find the only sane blood relative he had left. All he found was the boy's small, crimson ball cap, and the Kikanalo plush he'd had since the day he was born… well, what was left of it. It appeared as though it'd been severely shredded during the attack. This could mean only one thing.
"She… she took him… Th-that witch actually took him…" The temperature around Mihkoro began rising as his anger and hatred for Roodaka grew stronger, were it possible. Whisps of smoke and shadows rose from the dark Toa's fingertips as he glared at the body of one of the Visorak that'd been killed, and letting out a bellow of rage he set it alight, along with any other arachnid abominations that were nearby. Heart pounding and adrenaline shooting through his veins, Mihkoro stormed out of the room, heading for the doorway to get outside. He knew exactly where he was going no, and nothing was going to stop him. Roodaka was going to pay dearly for what she'd done, no matter what the cost was.
"I should've done this long ago…" He snarled under his breath. "I shouldn't have waited this long to do something about it…" As he went though, a curious thought came to him. Why did the Visorak let him live? They'd done away with Bakuma, Hera, and quite possibly Norik, so why leave him alive instead of kill him as well? Deciding that he could get that question answered soon enough, Mihkoro quickened his pace, walking through an archway and vanishing in the shadows beneath.
Where he re-appeared was on one of the Coliseum balconies, in the shadow of the very person he had come to find. For a split second, the dark Toa considered just cutting her down right there where she stood, but he stopped himself with the reminder that just up and killing people, no matter how evil, wasn't a Toa thing to do. Thus being the case, he resorted to crossing his tattoo-covered arms and clearing his throat loudly, catching the Vortixx's attention right away. Turning and putting one hand on her presently leather-clad hip, Mihkoro couldn't help but notice that her rather flattering outfit seemed much more battle-ready then the last outfit he'd seen her in, which had been a dress.
"Well well well, isn't this a lovely surprise." Roodaka purred, tracing her fingers along Mihkoro's jaw line. I knew you were still creeping around, but I never expected to have you crawl right into my hands." The dark Toa scowled as he jerked his head away from her and narrowed his eyes.
"What do you want, Roodaka?" He snapped coldly. "I didn't come to flirt with you or enjoy the view. You wouldn't have attacked the Great Temple if things weren't severe. Why did you kill the others but leave me alive? Just what are you playing at?"
"I want a new king. If I cannot bring my husband back, then I want to at least have someone I know I can count on. Sidorak is so pathetic… Besides, you have a son already, and he would be treated like royalty." Mihkoro's expression went from annoyed to enraged in a matter of seconds as he realized fully why Roodaka kept him alive. His hands clenched into fists as he uncrossed his arms, and when he spoke, his tone was dark and borderline murderous.
"I wouldn't let you within ten miles of Jaller." He hissed. "Stay away from my son unless you want to end up with your head on a pike." The Vortixx feigned a look of emotional hurt.
"So angry, even when I can give you so much power. I thought Teridax raised you with more intelligence than this. But, if this is what it comes down to… I have one more way to change your mind." Glancing at one of the Visorak that'd moved closer, she said lazily, as though she didn't have a care in the world.
"Bring me prisoner five." As it scuttled out of sight Mihkoro scowled, though nothing could hide the unease in his eyes.
"What are you up to?" The Vortixx only smirked. "Roodaka, answer me!" She merely giggled quietly as the Visorak returned, a small figure following it, and when Mihkoro saw who it was his face went white. "N-no…"
The figure was a Ta-Matoran child, no older than four, with dusty red, ear-length curls and bright, pinkish red eyes. His skin was slightly tanned in color, and his overall appearance was scruffy and unkempt. His red shirt was torn and stained with dirt, his dark grey jeans bearing massive holes in the knees. Even his dark brown shoes were well worn and on the verge of ripping. When the boy caught sight of Mihkoro, his slightly swollen eyes widened.
"D-Daddy?" Mihkoro started to feel nauseous. This couldn't be happening. It just couldn't be real. Roodaka spoke again now, her tone holding sinister amusement.
"If you join me, he'll live and grow up to be a wonderful young man. If you don't…well, let's just say he'll be joining his mother. I know you saw what happened to her." Mihkoro's eyes widened as he looked at her.
"N-no, you wouldn't!" Roodaka gave a quiet and malicious giggle.
"Would I note? Come now Mihkoro, don't be silly. You've known me since you were little. Do you really think I wouldn't follow through with a simple threat like this?" The dark Toa shivered. When she put I that way, it all seemed too believable to even try to pass off as hot air. There wasn't really a choice for him to even make. Hanging his head, he sighed quietly, his ruby red eyes once more wandering to gaze at his son. This four year old boy was, not including Vakama, the last family member he had left, and he wasn't about to lose him. Not for anything in the world, even revenge for what happened to his teammate and wife. With this in mind, Mihkoro looked back at Roodaka.
"… Fine, you win. J-just don't hurt him. I'll do anything you want, just please don't hurt my son." A sinister looking smile crossed the woman's face.
"Anything? How intriguing…" She snapped her fingers, and before Mihkoro even had a chance to speak again, two webs shot out from behind, ensnaring his arms and pulling them behind his back. "Take him to the laboratory." The twenty-six year old blinked before trying to jerk free.
"Get off me!" He snarled, red eyes narrowed and expression one of hatred. Roodaka laughed coldly at his attempts to break loose, absently running her long fingers through Jaller's hair as she mused.
"Now now, Mihkoro, you know better than that. You have a bargain to uphold. You swore to give anything to keep your son alive. Don't tell me you're backing out on him. Just think about it; he's so innocent, so young. Only four years old, and you would take your life over his. I thought you were more honorable than that." The dark Toa grunted as he was jerked backwards, his eyes still glaring death and destruction at her.
"This wasn't part of our agreement, Roodaka! This is blackmail!" The Vortixx smirked at him as she followed the Visorak guards and her new prisoner, taking Jaller with her.
"I know, and it's oh-so-satisfying. Tell me, Mihkoro, what sort of Rahi do you see yourself as?" The twenty-six year old didn't answer, focussing solely on breaking free of the webbing that was holding him back. "No answer? Fine then. Your fate is now in your son's hands." She then looked at Jaller. "What sort of person would you say your father is, little one? How reliable is he?" The four year old looked up at her with a mixture of fear, anger and sadness in his eyes.
"He's strong enough to crush you, n-no matter what you do!" He replied, tears streaming down his face. "Daddy's stronger than anyone in the whole world! He could beat you, even if he was tied up!" The woman's smirk grew as she thought over Jaller's answer.
"Crushingly strong, even when he's tied up… And here I thought of him as treacherous and sneaky… I know exactly what I'll do to him now." A malicious gleam crossed her eyes as they entered a peculiar, laboratory-like room. "Tie him up. Let's see just how strong this little snake really is." Mihkoro gasped as he felt himself get pulled against the wall, forcing the air out of his lungs and leaving him open for attack. The two Visorak were on him in a heartbeat, wrapping the dark Toa in a cocoon before he'd even had a chance to recover his breath. He could hear his son crying, and though his voice was muffled by his new prison, the twenty-six year old shouted.
"Jaller don't watch this! P-Please just close your eyes! Don't open them for anything unless I tell you, okay?" Even through the web he could hear his son's quiet response.
"O-okay… D-daddy? A-are you gonna be okay?" Mihkoro almost said no, but caught himself and replied instead.
"Just fine, Jaller. Daddy's going to be okay. If I start shouting, don't open your eyes. Just pretend I'm singing in the shower really poorly." Roodaka laughed faintly at this, her voice right beside Mihkoro's cocoon.
"How cute. You're trying to spare his mind of watching you in pain." Mihkoro shifted as best he could, eyes narrowing as he responded to her.
"Just get this over with before I'm tempted to fight my way out of here and break you beyond recognition." All he got in reply was a sinister and low giggle before he felt something stab into his neck. Wincing, he involuntarily shivered as the syringe's unknown contents were forced into his bloodstream, quickly spreading through his frame. Coughing quietly, he took notice of how hard breathing seemed to grow, and not long after his whole frame began to shake, as though he were severely cold. It didn't take long for a stabbing pain to rip through his legs, forcing him to let out an agonized, semi-strangled sounding scream, jerking violently as the pain spread through his entire frame. The sound of ripping cloth echoed faintly in his ears as the pain intensified, the cocoon feeling more and more cramped with every passing second, until finally the webbing began to rip apart. Mihkoro let out another pain-filled yell as one last ripple of agony rushed through him. Jerking once more, the bottom of the cocoon broke open, dumping the freshly mutated Toa out onto the cold stone floor in a heap. Everything felt different now, to the point of just seeming wrong. Weakly, the dark Hordika opened his eyes, focussing first on his son, who was standing half-way across the room with his face hidden behind his hands. Shakily Mihkoro tried to stand, only to discover he no longer had legs. Instead his lower half was now long and snake-like, covered in glossy, red and black scales, the black being the base color and the red forming large, round-cornered diamonds along the top of his new appendage. This peculiar transformation also covered his whole torso, back included, with scales. Shifting his hands, he realized with great alarm that his fingernails were now more like claws, and even the small glance he gave them told him that they were incredibly sharp.
"M-Mata Nui…" He gasped out, looking himself over with shock and near-mortification. "What…what happened to me?" Panicking a bit, he looked over at Jaller. "Y-you can open your eyes now, Jaller. But… I'm a bit different now…" Slowly the Ta-Matoran uncovered his eyes, opening them and staring at his father in fear.
"D-Daddy?" Tears began streaming down his face as the four year old ran over to Mihkoro, cuddling up against his frame and crying onto his scale-covered shoulder. Shakily, the twenty-six year old wrapped an arm around his son as a light hug, careful to keep his claws away from the boy's skin.
"It's okay Jaller…Daddy's okay…"
