Crimson Blades
Toa Tahu, leader of the Toa Nuva, sprinted through the trees of the Karda Nui swamp toward his teammate, Gali Nuva, upon whom the giant warrior Icarax descended. Tahu raised his triple-bladed weapon to launch a fireball at the monster when a bolt of shadow energy struck his arm, throwing him to the ground.
A crimson-armored, bat-winged figure slammed down before him, clawed feet digging into the marshy ground. Tahu recognized him as Makuta Antroz, the commander of the Brotherhood forces invading Karda Nui. His burning eyes seared into the fallen Tahu like jets of flame.
"So, Tahu," he growled as the Toa Nuva of Fire got to his feet. "Isn't this appropriate? Here we are, two leaders of opposing forces trying to win the final battle of this war in the darkness of a swamp. I am a Makuta of some honor, you see, which is why you are not dead yet. Therefore, I'd hate for this to end so pathetically as my slaughtering you. What do you say—a bit of final swordplay before the end?"
Tahu's weapons adapted to fit the situation, his tri-blade and Nynrah Ghost Blaster turning into copies of his old twin magma swords. "You're on, Makuta."
Antroz said nothing, merely brandished his own weapons. He lashed out with one, making Tahu lean and twist his body, bringing up a sword to deflect the blow. While his blade locked with Antroz's, Tahu swung his other sword at his enemy's legs, only to have it checked by the Makuta. Antroz freed his blades and quickly slammed his skull into Tahu's, causing the hero to stagger back. Taking advantage of the distraction, Antroz activated his Kanohi Jutlin, using it to rot away the wood connecting a branch to the trunk of a swamp tree near his foe.
Tahu regained his senses and used his own mask as fast as possible, throwing up a translucent red force shield. The limb fell and shattered on the shield before it could crush its creator. As soon as Tahu lowered it, he found one of Antroz's weapons slashing across his chest, slicing open his breastplate.
"Keep your guard up, Toa!" Antroz said with a wicked smile. Tahu charged, slamming his swords against those of Antroz. The two warriors grappled with each other for a long while, but Tahu's adrenaline gave him the edge, pushing the Makuta back. Before Antroz was overwhelmed, he suddenly started flapping his wings hard, the resulting gusts of wind blowing Tahu nearly into the mutagenic seawater from above.
Antroz stabbed his blades into the ground, sending waves of shadow at the Toa Nuva leader. Tahu's quick reflexes allowed him to leap over the attack, peppering Antroz with fire bolts as he passed overhead. As soon as the hero's feet touched the ground, Antroz launched himself at him at impossible speeds, ramming his clawed foot into Tahu's midsection. The Makuta marched over to his fallen foe, a guttural laugh emanating from his tooth-filled maw.
"It seems we now know who is the better warrior here, Toa Tahu," he said, raising a blade. "Now, die with honor."
"Not yet!" Tahu sprung up, his armored boot catching Antroz's jaw. "Never start what you can't finish, Antroz."
"I wouldn't dream of it, dear Toa." Bolts of chain lighting flashed from Antroz's weapons, sending Tahu flying through the trees. Antroz followed, taking wing. As soon as his opponent was in his sights, he unleashed a blast of shattering power. Tahu quickly dropped to the ground, the large tree behind him turned to shards with an ear-splitting explosion.
The bat-like Makuta landed on top of Tahu, pinning him to the dirt, his teeth glittering. Antroz had suddenly turned into a Rahi-like beast instead of the slightly honorable fighter that he was. His poisonous fangs were mere inches away from the Toa of Fire's mask.
"You've been poisoned before, Toa," Antroz hissed. "Don't you want to experience it again? Think about how good it made you feel... How it let your emotions free of the shackles of morality. How you were able to do whatever you wanted, without your 'friends' holding you back."
Antroz's voice was almost seductive, something Tahu thought impossible. "The day I choose that path, spawn of the pit, is the day you and your kind decide to sit around and do nothing more than discuss the weather."
Antroz shrugged. "Don't choose, then." His mouth stretched itself open, his fangs dripping with green poison. Just before the barbs reached Tahu's throat, a ball of light exploded upon impact with the Makuta's head, knocking him into the foliage. Tahu glanced up to see Kopaka flying overhead before Vamprah slammed into the Toa of Ice, throwing him to the swamp floor.
The red-armored Toa wasted no time being shocked at the sneak attack, jumping up and shooting jets of fire at his recovering foe. Makuta Antroz batted them away as if they were no more than clumps of dirt.
"You're pushing on my last nerve, Toa," he growled, his eyes glowing in the darkness of the trees.
"Don't look at me," Tahu replied, raising his swords. "Kopaka's the one that blasted you. Right before your friend dive-bombed him."
"I said that I have honor, not the others." Antroz charged, only to have his blow deflected by Tahu's ignited magma swords, lighting up the dark swamp with sparks. The dance of blades continued, metal clanging against heated metal, neither combatant running low on stamina. Tahu managed to chip off part of Antroz's leg armor, but it wasn't enough to cause his energy to leech out. The shadowy Makuta opened his mouth again and let out a sonic power scream, driving Tahu back into a grove of trees. Antroz created a shadow hand, ripping the trees out of the moist ground.
"It looks like you're running out of ideas," he said.
"Not quite." Activating his Kanohi Hau Nuva once more, the Toa of Fire ran at full speed at Antroz, the shield slamming into him and sending the winged warrior through the trees and crashing into Vamprah, who was using his own mask on Kopaka. Tahu followed to find the two Makuta recovering. He looked down at Kopaka and smiled.
"There. Now we're even."
Antroz pounced, driving his blades into Tahu's shoulder armor. Kopaka took aim with his Midak Skyblaster, but Vamprah had conjured a shadow hand of his own, using it to grab the white Toa and fling him into the air and away.
"No more interruptions," said Antroz, throwing the Toa in the mud. "Now, we finish this."
"Couldn't agree more," Tahu groaned. He began swinging his swords wildly, only to see each and every blow deflected by Antroz's blades. Their weapons locked, bringing them mask-to-mask. As the two crimson warriors grappled, thoughts raced through Tahu's mind. An idea struck him then. I can't win this on swordfighting skill alone, he thought. Then it's time to show this Makuta just what makes us Toa so unique.
Tahu began building up his elemental flame power, the blades of his swords glowing white hot. It did not go unnoticed. "Go ahead, Tahu," Antroz taunted. "Blow us both up. I'm sure that will help your fellow Toa win this battle."
"You forget, Antroz: being a Toa of Fire, I have this wonderful natural resistance to heat." Tahu unleashed an explosion of flame from his swords, sending both fighters flying. Makuta Antroz struck a thick tree hard, causing the trunk to snap in half. If the force of the explosion didn't knock him unconscious, the impact of the tree falling on him did.
Tahu struggled to his feet, his swords turning back into a tri-blade and a Nynrah Ghost Blaster. "As I said, don't start what you can't finish, Makuta." The Toa Nuva of Fire turned and ran as best he could in the direction Gali and Icarax were fighting, leaving the Brotherhood commander buried in the mud.