He wasn't sure how long, but Silver began hearing a pestering voice after he lost consciousness.
Jupiter: [Hey! Wake up!]
Silver: Huh?
He awoke and found himself stuck in some kind of small hut. He was laying on a simple bed made from soft feeling plants and woven sheets. The place he was in was rather small and enclosed, so it felt a bit tight to be inside. He could probably fit another two or three people in here.
Jupiter: [Finally. Thought you would never wake up.]
Silver: [Oh yeah. What the hell happened?]
Jupiter: [Well, our ship kinda crashed and sank. Never saw anyone else but you come out. After that, we washed up on an island that's who-knows-where. You were pretty much about to pass out when the locals found us. They dragged you to their village and patched you up. Now, we're here.]
Silver: [Just great.]
Jupiter: [Look on the bright side, the people here seem nice.]
Before the boy could respond, another masked person opened the tent and saw the boy awake. They yelled something neither understood before the person ran out. Less than a minute later, another person walked in and Jupiter recognized them as that elderly person they saw before Silver passed out. Red eyes peered from the holes of his mask as he spoke.
Elder: Good, you're awake. We feared you were suffering a worse fate, but it appears you merely suffered from exhaustion.
Silver: What? You speak Koine?
He and his friend were surprised to find speakers of that language here of all places. They were expecting something more native like what they heard earlier.
Elder: Haha. Well, you aren't wrong to be surprised. Can you stand?
Silver: Y-Yeah, I think so.
Elder: Follow me. I will show you around.
Silver: Sure, and thanks for saving me and all, but who are you?
Rua: My, where are my manners? You may call me, Rua and I am the elder of this great village.
Silver: Silver, and village?
Rua: Come.
He led the boy outside and he saw a vast expanse of settlement. The housing was simple and made from the same materials as the hut he was just in. Everything around the place screamed "primitive" to him, but he could get used to it eventually. In the distance, he also saw a giant tree deeper in the island. However, he would not get a chance to ask about it. Another villager came when he saw the two come out and greeted the elder.
Villager A: Turaga Rua! *Bows*
Rua: *Raises his hand to him* At ease.
The villager bowed again and left the two.
Silver: Turaga?
Rua: It's their native tongue. That is just their word for elder.
Silver: Do they speak Koine too?
Rua: Heh. After I became Turaga, I made sure everyone in the village could speak it. Of course, I learned their language as well.
Silver: And the masks?
The boy was curious about the masks on their faces. It seemed strange to hide your face if you were with your people.
Rua: Oh, that's just a custom of theirs. Everyone in the village is given a Kanohi Mask to wear.
Silver: Ka- what?
Jupiter: [Sounds like gibberish to me.]
Rua: Haha. Kanohi. It's the type of mask made from carving the wood from the trees here.
Silver: That's pretty interesting.
Rua: Let me show you around.
He led the boy around and showed him many places round the village. They had farmland to grow their food as well as nets of freshly caught fish. Primitive they looked, they had everything they needed. Well, almost everything.
Villager A: Turaga Rua! Rahi zya-pa opo!
Turaga Rua! Rahi attacking!*
AN: I'll be leaving the rough translations (very, very rough) in *text* underneath. They speak like actual people soon, so don't worry. Also, to the like one or two who actually know what it means and how to speak it, you can correct me if I'm wrong because it's been years since I've touched on this but it isn't like most people understand it anyway, so hopefully you aren't too offended if I'm off a little (or a lot).
Another villager came frantically with bad news. Rua looked at him and nodded, keeping a calm demeanor.
Rua: Ipoki?
Where?*
Villager A: Ke koro u! Olo ya udui ianga ai! Rahi anga-na!
Near the village! Next to the south gate! Four Rahi!*
The elder nodded and told the man to rally others to fight. Silver merely watched and grew more concerned by their tones.
Silver: What's happening?
Rua: Rahi. Monsters are attacking near the village.
Jupiter: [We might want to go and check it out. Best we lend a hand.]
Silver: [I would, but I'm not sure how much help I would be unarmed.]
Jupiter: [Relax, you still have my powers. Besides, monsters on the surface aren't that tough compared to what we had to fight.]
Silver: [Good point.]
The elder saw the boy was deep in thought until he looked to him.
Rua: Apologies for this. Not very welcoming for your first day here, is it?
Silver: It's fine. I can go with you there.
Rua: You aren't hurt, per se, but having a guest handle our problems isn't hospitable of us. Even more so considering how you got here.
Silver: You can think of it as my payment for your kindness.
He smiled and Rua returned it.
Rua: Very well. Come.
He led him to the south gate and they saw several villagers dispose of the last of the monsters as they only saw them die and explode by the time they got there. The others saw the boy and asked questions about him.
Villager A: I ou ki ai?
Who are you?*
Rua: He is our guest. Also, for the time being, refrain from speaking our native tongue as he is not familiar with it. Now is a good time to practice your Koine. Please share this information with the others as well. Thank you also for dealing with the Rahi, Paka.
The tall and decently built man bowed. He had a red mask on his face and carried a spear on his back.
Paka: Right away, Turaga! Thank you!
He left and hurriedly went to tell everyone about the development.
Jupiter: [Guess we weren't needed after all.]
Rua: As you can see, we do have our own village guard. Paka there is the Captain of it and he does his duty well.
Silver: Yeah.
Rua: It's just a shame we don't have better protection. This village will remain under threat until a new Toa appears.
Silver: Toa?
Rua: What our people refer to as protectors. As it happens, I was the previous Toa. Of course, my age wouldn't let me fight forever, nor did I have any brothers to rely on.
Silver: I'm sorry to hear that.
Rua: Don't be. Now, we can return to our tour of the village. This land was blessed by our Great Spirit and thus was given the name, Koro Nui. It honors it by bearing the mantle and growing greater each day it stands. Our people follow that with pride which is why they put their best effort in everything they do, including resting.
He pointed over to several hammocks where some were sleeping. Silver saw more of their village such as slightly larger huts with furnaces to bake as well as a wide-open field for others to train in combat. Later that day, Rua gathered everyone in the center to formally welcome the boy.
Rua: Gather friends. Today, we welcome a new face to our village. This young man, Silver, was found on our shores recently and nearly lost his life. We thank our Great Spirit for their benevolence in allowing him to find rest with us and he has made a full recovery. Please, make him feel welcome her.
They all cheered and gave their greetings to the boy. As instructed, they all spoke in Koine for him so they could communicate properly and he quickly made good relations with all of them.
Meanwhile, in Orario...
The last few days had been normal in the city. However, in Olympus Manor, that was less of the case. With the Hera Familia, Meteria had been in a state of constant anger from what happened a few days earlier. It was bad enough that no one was able to approach her due to being too afraid to do so. Alfia had moved herself out of their room from both fear and due to the fact that sleeping wouldn't be an option. June gave Meteria hell the first time because Meteria had destroyed most of the room. Though, one glare from the girl instantly shut al complaints from the woman, who simply sighed each time she came to a room destroyed from the previous night. Though not as angry as her, the rest of her party was also quite upset with what happened to Silver.
Brioche: He left?!
Whitney: What in the world happened?!
Meteria: My Familia had him chased away. They blamed him for something he never did all because they never liked him.
Nory: No...
Cester: Unacceptable!! To hell with their claims!
Barba: Hey, calm down! Even if we are upset about it, there's nothing we can do about it! They're the top Familia in Orario!
Meteria: There is something we can do.
They turned to her as she kept a tight grip on the shaft of her axe.
Meteria: We're going to the Dungeon.
And so, the girl would spend even more time in the Dungeon than normal. Every time she returned, Meteria would be covered in blood to the point it was impossible to tell whether any of it were hers or monsters. Yesterday, Hera had ordered her by divine will not to remain in the Dungeon after a certain time. So, the girl instead had June train with her when she returned. In her anger and grief, she wouldn't quit until she collapsed from exhaustion. This became her daily life from then on.
With Zeus, his Familia was a bit better off. Nothing much changed, but they had a much lower spirit in the beginning. Eventually, they knew they had to be strong because they convinced each other that they needed to be positive so they could welcome the boy back properly after a year had passed. So, they returned to business as usual.
Timeskip a week...
Silver had finally gotten a good foothold in the village. Only a week, and he more or less understood the system going on in Koro Nui. Now that he was fit, in Rua's eyes, he went to helping around the village. They even fit him with his own Kanohi Mask which was a simple design similar to what the others wore. When night came, Rua entered his hut and sat with the boy.
Rua: So, how is life in the village?
Silver: It is a nice change of pace for me.
Rua: Does the mask feel well?
Silver: Yeah. A little stuffy, but I'll live.
Rua: Haha. You get used to it. They were carved from the best Kanoka Disks we had. Made from the Kanoka trees growing just outside the village.
Silver: I have seen quite a few going out for them. They must be special to have everyone there and working so well to.
Rua: Well, we do have our own beliefs. Nothing would get done otherwise.
Silver: Probably.
Rua: So, I don't believe you've said, but how did you get here? Why did you wash up on our island?
The boy grimaced a bit and the elder got an understanding look.
Rua: My apologies, you need not speak if it's too painful.
Silver: No, I think it would be better to talk about it with at least one person.
Rua: If that's what you wish, then speak to your hearts content.
Silver: Thank you, Turaga. Well, it all started after I was framed for something I never did. They only turned on me because I had close relations to a girl that group adored.
Rua: So, it went down like that?
Silver: Yes. To protect me, I was told to travel to Dizara to meet with a god and stay with him until things calmed down.
Rua: I see. Well, I've known you for only a little time, but I know enough that those claims are false and dishonorable.
Silver: Thank you for your kind words. I would try and return on my journey there, but I don't know where this island is or even how to get off.
Rua: There are enough trees that you can make a large enough boat to get to mainland again.
Silver: I'll be sure to pay you all back before I take my leave.
Rua: It's too bad you have to leave. You'd make a fine addition even being an outsider.
Silver: I'm sorry, but I have to back. (I will see her again!)
Rua: Well, no hard feelings. Good night then, Young Silver. Sleep well. because the Naming Ceremony is tomorrow.
Silver: Good night, Turaga. I will be there.
The old mad left and Silver wondered how he would return back to mainland.
Jupiter: [Even if we do, we still have to visit Lord Poseidon and his Familia.]
Silver: [Yeah, just until a year passes or whenever Dad gets to sending another letter. Of course, we'd have to find a way off this island.]
Jupiter: [The hard part is actually figuring out where the hell we are. No modern maps mark this island anywhere. We could be halfway across the world for all we know.]
Silver: [Maybe when that boat gets done, we should do test sails to see if we can find any land off this island.]
Jupiter: [Probably the safest choice until we know where exactly we are.]
They made that plan together before the boy went to sleep. The next day, Silver woke up yawning until the village alarm was sound. He rushed outside and understood the alarm to know more Rahi were attacking. Seeing previous attacks before, he saw there were just weaker monsters that escaped from the Dungeon and repopulated here. He arrived at one of the gates and saw Paka sharpening a spear.
Silver: Paka! How many are there?!
Paka: A scout returned and reported over 20. Many of them larger than normal.
Silver: 20?! You can't take that many as you are!
Paka: Doesn't matter. I have a duty to protect the village.
He left in a hurry while Silver cursed his stupidity.
Silver: (Idiot!)
He grabbed a spear from there and ran to where the battle was. He arrived to an area a ways away from the gate and saw the others being quickly overwhelmed. One was knocked to the ground and a bear-like monster was about to slash him before Silver screamed.
Silver: NO!!!
He bent his legs and went for a massive sprint over to them. He even unconsciously cast his spell to increase his speed further.
Silver: Strike Jupiter
Thunder roared in the distance before a loud crash and a burst was heard near them. The grounded villager opened his eyes and saw the boy cloaked in lightning before easily tearing through the rest of the monsters. Once they were all killed, he went to everyone to see if they were hurt.
Silver: Is everyone alright?
Villager A: Y-Yes, thank you.
They all checked on themselves before the boy led them back to Koro Nui. Upon returning, Turaga Rua came to see how everyone was doing after hearing about the circumstances of the encounter.
Villager A: It was incredible! He was surrounded by all of them, but then he easily dealt with them all!
Villager B: I thought I was dead, but I heard thunder in the distance before he appeared before me, surrounded in lightning!
Rua: Is that true?
Silver: *Nods* Yes. I could not stand by and let them die after being shown kindness from them.
Rua: Then, can you show us your power?
The boy nodded and cast his spell once more. They heard crackling as he was covered in lightning once more. All looked at him in awe.
Villager C: He wields magical power!
Villager B: He uses it without a Great Kanohi!
Rua: I see. You are clearly blessed by the Spirits.
Silver: *Sweatdrop* (He's not exactly wrong there.)
The boy smiled sheepishly before the elder came and raised his arm up.
Rua: Rejoice friend! Mata Nui has blessed us with a new Toa protector!
Cheers rang out through the crowds as joy emanated through all of them.
Everyone: Hail the new Toa! Protector of Koro Nui!
Rua took his cane and waved it above the boy's head.
Rua: Young Silver, you noble actions make you more than worthy of the title. It doesn't follow customs exactly, but you already have the powers needed, so we have no need to venture deeper for a Kanoka Tree blessed by the Great Spirit.
The boy was happy about that much as he worried how deep they would have to venture to find one of those. That, and he felt he didn't really deserve such a gift. He could at least guess it had to be near the giant tree near the center of the island.
Rua: Therefore, by the authority vested in me as acting Turaga, I recognize you as our protector and grant you both title and a new name. Rise Toa Waikala. You stand before us as the protector of the village Koro Nui as well as the island of Mata Nui.
Silver smiled and nodded at him. Everyone else rejoiced at the birth of a new hero in their village. Once that was over, the ceremony continued as more people were given new names. A grand feast was also held to celebrate the ceremony as well as Silver's rise to Toa Hero. As the days passed, Silver got to know the island even more as he went outside Koro Nui to patrol the island for any Rahi threats. In just a few days, he singlehandedly exterminated four nests near the village. He was praised by everyone in the village for his heroics. Even the woman began to notice him more as his birthday had recently passed as well, making him 14. Even so, the older looking ones weirded him out, much to Jupiter's disappointment. The spirit constantly advised him to take them up on their offers, but the boy constantly made it clear there was only one girl on his mind. As if that weren't enough, he still was getting used to having a new name since he only had one, maybe two, in his entire life. Yet, he still kept it as a respect to everyone in the village.
About a month and a half later...
In Orario, the Hera Familia was experiencing turmoil inside as Meteria further sank into her anger. Her previous self seemed all but lost on the surface. However, a small fragment of that remained as she was responsible to rescuing several rookies of her Familia. Fresh Level 1s who bit off more than they could chew. They were intimidated by her at first, but hearing about her past made them adore her to the point a secret fanclub was made in the hopes of bringing the girl her smile back as thanks for saving their lives. Of course, that came with the fact that more hate of the boy who left was spread as well. Hera still had yet to remove that bias from herself and some of her executives knew it.
Today, both Familias were preparing for a joint training session together. The veterans knew how it worked already, but the newer additions were excited about the prospect of fighting other rookies like them. Achilles and Hector. were the few who weren't like that as the fires of their rivalry wouldn't fizzle out anytime soon.
Achilles: Time to show everyone what I can do!
Hector: You'll have to beat me first.
Achilles: You're welcome to try.
They smirked at each other while Treiy sighed at them.
Treiy: I hope you two don't go too far. We don't want to cause any problems right now.
Achilles: Yeah yeah.
Hector: Wait, where's Patroclus? He's supposed to join us.
Treiy: He's back there helping Mr. Chiron.
He pointed behind him and they all saw the man helping Chiron with the training gear.
Patroclus: *Lowers a crate* That's the last of them, Daddy.
Flashback...
Chiron: Patroclus, you don't have to be so formal with me. You can drop the Lord Chiron business.
Patroclus: Less formal? Then Daddy?
Chiron: No, that's- (No, just roll with it. There have been countless worse titles and this one is... manageable.) That will be fine.
End of Flashback...
Chiron: Thank you, Patroclus.
Patroclus: *Smiling* Mm~
Chiron: Achilles. Hector. You both do your best today.
Achilles and Hector: Yes, Daddy.
They both called him that too, mostly because it was funny to them.
Chiron: Treiy, keep them in sight.
Treiy: So, pretty much what I've been doing?
Chiron: Yup.
Treiy: Got it.
With the Hera Familia...
Meteria was the same as always. Though, for once, the girl had a smile on her face. However, it was a much more menacing one as she wanted to face stronger opponents to better herself. Alfia kept to herself as usual, still afraid of her when she's angry which was all the time now. A fresh face was Helen and her group. She ended up befriending the Ox Twins, Fran and Fen, Ox-people and women. Both 17 years old and had positive personalities that managed to melt through the reasonably tough Helen. Helen herself was feeling much better being able to find others in the Familia that she could trust as her friends. Being very close to her age also helped them bond. Still, being twice her level made Helen just a bit jealous. Fran, the pale skinned older twin with short black hair and blue eyes patted her on the back.
Fran: Don't so down, Helen.
Helen: I'm not down. Well, maybe just a little. Not sure how to feel about you guys being near the same age as me but twice my level.
Fen was the younger twin and had longer black hair and the same color eyes. She tried to help Helen lighten up as she always treated herself more harshly than normal people.
Fen: We just started earlier than you. It's nothing to be ashamed of.
Helen: *Smirks* Easy for you to say. Well, I'll be relying on you two for help for a while.
Fran: *Smiling* Our pleasure! You can count on us!
Helen smiled back. She was finally able to enjoy life again as a free woman, Though, she still had a lot weighed on her that she had yet to reveal to them. The twins would give her time for that.
With Briseis, the woman had a group of her own too. All were beauties even among the Hera Familia. The party was five strong and comprised of mainly Level 2s, but they were beginning to rise in popularity on the city. Of course, whether that was from their adventuring skills or their looks was up for debate.
With Silver...
The boy kept up with his duties like normal. All was normal until Turaga Rua came to his hut with a heavy heart. The boy stared at him with concern as the elder sat with a sigh.
Silver: Is everything alright, Turaga?
Rua: I... Yes, it will be, Waikala. I simply wanted to get something off my chest with you.
Silver: Me? Well, okay.
Rua: It has to be you. With both of us being outsiders to this place, only you would understand.
Silver: (That's right. I forgot he said he wasn't from this island.)
Rua: I wish to tell you of my story. I can see you are young and yet, I sense a small similarity from you.
Silver: Why not tell me how you got here?
Rua: Very well. I came from a small city in the mainland. Far from Orario which was where you were from. There, I was also hailed as a hero. A brave warrior. with few equals. Even without a god to bless me, I believed myself unstoppable. That I would be able to protect my wife, my child, and my home. My arrogance would come back to bite me one day.
Silver: What happened?
Rua: It was a surprise attack. A group of fanatics from faraway and obsessed with monsters created an abomination. A mixed creature they called a Chimera. It tore them apart and burned them to ash with its fire. It eventually escaped from its containment and found my home. I tried my best, but I wasn't able to kill it before it destroyed my home. My wife, she died in the accident in our home after being caught in the initial surprise attack. I found what remained of her body outside our home. Our son, he was nowhere to be found but I could find no sign of him. By the time the battle was over, my home was in ruins and my people dead. I grieved for them and buried what bodies I could find. In the end, I never found my son's body. To this day, I still hold out hope he survived that carnage long ago.
Silver: You never found his body, so there will always be a chance he made it out. Maybe someone found him before you did?
Rua: I hope so. Anyway, after that, I left. No longer having a home, I wandered aimlessly. Eventually, I tried taking a ship to sail for a port city where I would continue finding a new place to call home. However, the ship was attacked. A giant sea monster that looked like a massive snake appeared and sank our ship. I never saw anything more terrifying in my life. I thought it was over for me. When I knew it, I woke up on this island. The villagers healed me and I was soon back on my feet.
Silver: (Sounds like what happened to me.)
Rua: I soon grew accustomed to life here. However, that all would change when I found and cut down a blessed Kanoka Tree. Using the wood from it, we were able to carve a Great Kanohi Mask. With it, I was blessed with great power. It gave me powers of air. I was able to fly like I had wings of my own. The day I stopped a Rahi attack, I was reborn. I completely shed my previous self. My old name, Bellerophon was no more. I was reborn as Toa Rua. From then on, I served as protector of this village for decades and have been here ever since. In my service, I ridded myself of my arrogance and prided myself in new virtues. My unity with the people here. My duty to protect them and my destiny to remain here as part of their culture for the rest of my days. This pendant around my neck is all I have to remember my old family by. Besides sentimental value, all it does is light up the gemstone inside whenever in touching it. Well, that was my story.
The boy was amazed by the story told by the old man. He at least knew his history and what a history it was.
Rua: Sorry to have you listen to an old man prattle about his past.
Silver: No, I'm sorry for having you visit something that painful again. I couldn't imagine something like that in my life. Though, I would find it interesting if I could have been able to fly like you.
Rua: Haha! Well, you go and find a Blessed Kanoka Tree and carve a Kanohi from it. Be warned though, the only guarantee is the Great Tree in the center of the island. It's branches are thick enough to forge a mask from a disk cut out of it. Still, the tree is sacred and must remain untouched unless absolutely necessary.
Silver: I understand.
Rua: I think I've kept you for long enough. My story telling has kept us well past dark.
Silver: Hehe. Yeah. Goodbye, Turaga.
The boy let this day end like all the others.
A few days later...
The day started out like normal for the boy. He got up and went out to do his patrols once more. Today though, he felt uneasy. That was because he discovered a massive monster nest. It was far from the village, but the sheer size made it impossible to ignore forever. Today, he would set out to exterminate it. Once he did, he would be able to rest easy once more. He didn't tell anyone about it because of the anxiety it could cause, so he kept it to himself. Finishing his preparations, he set out for the nest.
Silver: [Finally time to deal with this.]
Jupiter: [No sweat. We've got this.]
The boy nodded mentally and set off. It took less than an hour to arrive at his destination. At the mountain area of the island, he came to the entrance of the cave where the nest resided. Inside, he scouted a bit and saw monsters range from what looked to be War Shadows and Lizardmen. How they arrived to this secluded island, he would never know, but what he did know was the threat the nest posed. He felt he let this mission slide off for long enough. Now was the time to strike.
Silver: [Here goes.]
Inside, he used his lightning as a source of light along with a small torch. Going deeper, he found the smaller nests of the monsters. They attacked him once they detected his presence. The shadows were easily dealt with, but the sheer number of Lizardmen made it difficult for the boy alone. The deeper he went, the more he encountered. On top of that, not having the best equipment did not help either. Eventually, he was able to find and exterminate the last of the monsters.
Silver: *sigh* Finally...
Jupiter: [Another job well done. Now, let's get out of here.]
Silver: [Now that I can agree on.]
It had been several hours of traveling and fighting. Thankfully, the spirit was able to navigate through the cave especially after the torch had long since burned out. Once he exited the cave, both of them sensed something very wrong. On look downward was enough for them to see fire by the village.
Jupiter: [Fire! The village is burning!]
Silver: [Crap!]
He activated his lightning and rushed down as fast as he could. That would prove to be pointless. By the time he arrived, the village was destroyed and the people slain.
Silver: No... It can't be...
Jupiter: [Shit! What happened?!]
They were brought from their thoughts when they heard coughing nearby. Silver went to investigate and saw Paka on the ground. He was mortally wounded and missing an eye.
Paka: Waikala? Is that you?
Silver: It's me! What in the world happened?!
Paka: I don't know. We were all caught by surprise. The great ships on the beach surprised us. What came out of them were strangely dressed people. They all wore dark clothing and spoke the same language you did when you first arrived- gh *coughing*
Silver: Paka!
He coughed up more blood before his life faded away. The boy grieved for his friend as the two grew a close bond together. Like an older brother with his younger one. Silver ran around more to try and find survivors, but here was no sign of anyone living. He asked Jupiter to see if he could sense anything, but the spirit wasn't able to find anyone at first. That was, until he spotted Turaga Rua on the ground as well. He was bloody as well and looked to be barely alive. His mask was also broken and tossed away from him.
Silver: Rua!
Rua: Wa...Waikala?
Silver went to him and held him carefully. Even in his pain, he tried to keep the old man is as much comfort as he could. To Rua, he was relieved to see the boy alive and well.
Silver: *In tears* I-I'm sorry. I failed you all. If I hadn't left, none of this would-
Rua: No... Leaving to protect us from the Rahi is also doing your duty. No one could have... predicted this.
Silver: B-But...
Rua: Tell me, you completed the mission you set out to do?
Silver: Y-Yes...
Rua: *Smiles* Ah... good.
The old man coughed a bit as his breathing became more labored. Silver knew he didn't have much time left.
Silver: I should have been here. I should have helped you! If not that, at least die with you all!
Rua: No... Our lifetime journeys have been set for us. The past won't change from our actions or regrets. This... is where our journey ends. Yours lies further beyond...
The boy kept sobbing to the old man. In his time here, he came to see the man as the grandfather he never had. Zeus may have been old, but Silver would always view him as his Father. In all his life, he never knew what a grandfather was. After a brief taste of it, that and much more had been taken from him.
Rua: Trust in yourself. You still have your family to return to.
Silver: I had all of you too! You died because I wasn't here!
Rua: *Smiling* We aren't dead forever... Our spirits live on in you. *Touching the boy's chest* Not one person here blames you. As you had always done before, you were simply doing your duty as I had decades ago.
Silver: *Sniffle* Rua...
The old mad then weakly took the pendant off his neck and gave it to the boy.
Rua: *Smiling* Toa Waikala... I can never tell you how proud I am to have called you brother...
The elder tightned his fist so the boy could bump it with his. After, he gave the boy his hand with the pendant inside it. The boy took the pendant and closed his eyes in sadness. Tears leaked from them as Rua's breathing slowed before stopping all together. The boy sobbed more once he sensed the old man was gone. He was so absorbed in his grief, he didn't notice the pendant glowing in his hand nor the company that was coming his way. Coming to see the remains of the wreckage were two pirates.
Pirate A: I don't see why we had to stay behind.
Pirate B: Just shut up and move. We already killed everyone here, so now we just have to deal with the stragglers.
Pirate A: Like him?
He pointed to Silver who was still grieving.
Pirate B: I told you there could be survivors!
Pirate A: Whatever. It's only one kid.
The boy was brought back to reality when he heard the two speak. Seeing them, it matched the description Paka gave him.
Silver: You! Were you responsible?!
Pirate A: Sure were. These people didn't put up much of a fight. Lucky for us we washed up here.
Pirate B: Sure was. There was plenty of stuff to pillage when the storm washed us all here. Oh well. At least we had fun here.
Pirate A: Haha! Their screams were music to my ears.
The boy grew angrier by the second. Their words caused his blood to boil more and more. In their glee, they failed to notice the boy's body crackling with electricity nor the storm clouds in the sky.
Jupiter: [What are you doing?!]
Silver: [I'm going to make them pay!]
The crackling grew louder and soon the two took notice. Silver was quickly becoming engulfed in his anger as well as he outputted more and more magic onto him.
AN: Feel free to play it if you want. This is just what I imagine hearing whenever a someone/something needs to feel powerful. The title fits a bit poorly though.
Jupiter: [Stop! Your body can't handle that much spirit power! It's going to kill you!]
Silver: [Whatever.]
He felt the signal go silent. Jupiter tried to call out to him, out that proved to be useless. On the outside, the boy growled with great aggression and bloodlust as the two pirates now quivered in fear. His lightning took on a deep crimson color. Blood also began seeping out of his head and eyes as his overexerted himself. His normally brown hair also took on a grey color before the lightning stabilized a bit. On the inside, Jupiter was busy trying to save Silver from himself.
Jupiter: [This better work!]
The spirit found what looked to be a pool of a strange liquid. It was swirling around the room it was in. The spirit knew he had little time, so he jumped inside and quickly channeled its power inside it. Lightning crackled inside the liquid as well before both the inside and outside equalized. Speaking of outside, the boy still violently crackled with lightning, even though it had stabilized enough that he wouldn't die. He looked at the two pirates who were quivering on the ground with death in his eyes.
Silver: HAAA!!!
He sent a wave of lightning at them, something he was never capable of before. The attack left both severely burned and in massive pain. They both cried out before the boy grabbed one by the collar and began interrogating him.
Silver: Who are you and where did you come from?!
Pirate A: *Terrified* A-Ah...
Thundercrash*
Lightning stuck near them as the boy's temper flared.
Silver: ANSWER THE QUESTION!!!
Pirate A: HIII!!! W-We're pirates! A group called the Scylla!! We sail around the eastern parts of the world! Please, spare us!!
He and his partner quivered as Silver glared at the man in front of him.
Silver: I see. Then where can I find the rest of you?
Pirate A: I-I don't know! I've never been to the main base! I've only been on the ship!
Silver: Then you're useless!!
Pirate A: NO!!! AAAAAAAAAH!!!
Silver channeled large amounts of magic and began to fry the man alive. However, in his anger, he failed to notice the other pirate begin to get up. Seeing a chance, he quietly drew his sword and prepared to stab the boy in the back. As he got into striking range, he saw the boy was still busy killing his partner. He seized his chance and thrusted the sword as hard as he could. However, before it touched him, a pale, grey hand appeared from the boy's back and caught the blade. The hand extended into an arm and then into a full body that was the same color as the hand that first appeared. It had a darker shade of grey as its hair color. The body was slightly well built as abs could be seen near the abdomen and the arms and legs were muscly.
Pirate B: What?!
The strange figure shattered the sword before summoning more lighting magic around its hands. The lightning bounced between its hands before the figure shot the magic out and towards the remaining pirate. A brief scream was heard before only silence remained. Silver finished with his pirate before turning around and seeing the figure. His anger still flowed through him, but a strange feeling coursed through his body as rage turned to curiosity for a moment. The boy looked at the figure with confusion before speaking.
Silver: Jupiter?
The figure crossed its arms before giving a smile.
Jupiter: It's about time you came back to your senses.
Silver: I-Wha... How are you out here?
Jupiter: Well, after you so recklessly unleashed my full spirit power, which you couldn't handle mind you, I had to take some measures to make sure you didn't self destruct.
Silver: And that meant?
Jupiter: I merged myself with your soul to make us even more compatible. Now, you can safely use all my power to your heart's content. Of course, there were some side effects.
Silver: And I assume this is one of them?
Jupiter: Yup. Now I have an actual form instead of the single voice you've been used to all this time. Plus, I can come outside your body and stand beside you while you fight. I could be like your Stand.
Silver: *Blank face* I don't know what that is.
Jupiter: Although, if I'm going to be your Stand, I need a name.
Silver: No you don't.
Jupiter: Well, I can think that up another time. Let's go make sure there aren't more.
He then burst into a cloud of electricity before returning inside the boy. The two went to the beach and found a single ship by the water. Inside, Silver appeared on board and slaughter every single pirate on board. It only took a few minutes before it was only him left. The decks were bathed in blood before the boy tossed the bodies into the water. In the Captain's quarters, they were able to find a map and figure out where exactly they were. It turned out they were very northwest, mostly west, of the mainland. It would take them some time before they could arrive at Dizara. They got off the boat and returned to the destroyed village.
Jupiter: [Look, I'm just glad you're still you. I mean after everything you just saw.]
The boy looked around and understood what he meant. Memories of what he just went through flashed through his mind as he clenched his fist in anger.
Silver: I... They at least deserve a proper burial.
Jupiter agreed and the two set out to bury what remained of the villagers. They found what bodies they could, and buried each of them. The boy placed each of their masks on top of their graves to mark each person. His anger temporarily gone, he grieved for the loss of each of them. It took most of the day before he was done, but eventually, he finished properly burying everyone he found.
Jupiter: [We should be going.]
Silver: Not yet. There's still something to do.
He ventured to the great tree in the center of the island. Once there, he jumped to the tallest point and found a worthy branch. He summoned his magic again before conjuring a sword of lighting to slice a branch off.
Jupiter: [What are you doing?!]
Silver: Rua said the people would live on in me. I'm going to make sure the village and the island do as well.
He brought the branch back to the village and cut a disk from it. From there, he spent nearly a day carving it into a mask. According to Turaga Rua, wood from that tree were guaranteed to become a Great Kanohi Mask. And so, after much toil, the mask was finished. Painted red and shaped like a skull, his Kanohi was complete. He took off his old one and left it outside on its own mound next to the others before putting the new one on.
Jupiter: [So, what are you naming it?]
Silver: This will be the Kanohi Kuru.
Jupiter: [Anything else you need to do here?]
Silver: No. Now, I'm taking that ship and sailing to Dizara. Maybe they know more about those people who attack this place. I stole a medallion from the Captain on the boat. If people there recognize it, that makes the plan easier.
Jupiter: [What plan?]
Silver: [Isn't it obvious? I'm going to find and hunt down every single one of the Scylla.]
Jupiter: [Revenge isn't going to bring them back, man.]
Silver: [I know, but I'll never be able to sleep well until I know they've been avenged. It'll be my last duty as Toa and my atonement. Not only that, it stops them from doing the same to other people as well. I'm willing to bet we weren't the first to suffer from them but I promise this will be the last time those pigs get to feast like that. It doesn't matter where they hide or that I've never sailed a ship before. I'll sail every sea I have to until I've snuffed out every single one of them. None of them are escaping me.
AN: Okaaaay. So, lots of random crap got thrown into your face. I got that. Again, if any of you got the massively obscure reference this whole chapter was about, I do hope you weren't offended if/when I was horrendously off in my language. As I've said, it's been a while since I've touched it. I'll leave the basic translations for some of the stuff here for you all.
Rua - wisdom
Paka - Strength
Waikala - Silver (not from the same language, but both were derived from the same original language if I recall correctly, but I'm probabl wrong about that.)
Turaga - Elder
Toa -Brave hero/protector
Rahi: dangerous beast (basically monsters)
Kanoka- Disk of power (I tweaked some things around so they could fit properly. The trees would be cut into disks which would become Kanoka disks)
Kanohi - Mask of power (Normal Kanohi hold no special power. They simply serve as a source of identity for each person who wears one. When Rua became Turaga, his Great Kanohi Mask fell off in power with his age)
Kanohi Kuru - Mask of Anger (rough translation)
Koro Nui - Great Village (Literal translation)
Mata Nui - Great Spirit (Literal translation. Also, ripped from the original, but this won't be the last you see of it.)
I think that should do it. I doubt many of you would remember Bionicle if you ever knew it at all. As for me, this was my earliest childhood, so when I thought I could incorporate it into this story, I kinda jumped at that chance. I did my best so that the concepts would align with the story as best as they could, but I definitely slipped up several times at some point. I can at least say I very much enjoyed putting this together as I spent probably 4 or 5 hours straight writing it today as well as a few trying to relearn the Matoran language earlier.
Well, this concludes Part 1 of The Odyssey Trilogy. Silver has a lot on his plate now. Hopefully you enjoyed this mess. Thanks for reading and I'll see you in the next one!