Four review...eh, it's better than nothing.
I don't own BIONICLE in general. I only own Darkness, any unofficial Dark Hunters and the plot.
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Chapter 1
The waves lapped against the boat as it drifted onto the beach. One of the Dark Hunters that the Shadowed One had brought with him jumped out and pulled the boat onto the shore, and its occupants climbed out of it. Leering at his surroundings contemptuously, the Shadowed One stomped towards the small Matoran village near the beach, his underlings following him obediently.
When the team of Dark Hunters arrived at the village to find the diminutive Matoran partaking in a tribal ritual.
"You," the Shadowed One said, pointing a steely talon at a nearby Matoran. "Some time ago, one of my emissaries came to these parts. Where did he go?"
"He went into the forest, sir," the frightened Matoran said, pointing a trembling finger at a large forest, separated from the village by a crude bamboo wall along the village border. "Nearly a moon rise ago, the monster within the forest returned your companion. Please, stranger, I implore you, leave this place, before you suffer the same fate," the Matoran begged.
"I'll take my chances," the Shadowed One sneered as he walked up to the wall, blasting a hole in it with his laser vision. When he stepped through his makeshift opening, he was greeted by the decapitated head of Shriek, hanging from a vine in front of him, a piece of wood with writing on it hanging from its jaw. Covering his mouth and nose to protect his lungs from the stench of rotting flesh, the Shadowed One pulled off the piece of wood and read the message scratched onto its surface.
Follow the trail of crumbs, and you will find that which you seek, it read mockingly. Scowling, the Shadowed One tossed the message aside and stomped deeper into the dense forest followed by his lackeys. After an hour of aimless walking, they found a severed hand pinned to a tree with a large metal spike, pointing deeper into the forest. Wrinkling his nose in disgust at the hand, the Shadowed One nevertheless followed the direction that it indicated.
For hours, the band of Dark Hunters followed the trail of armor and eviscerated body parts forming a path to their destination that their target had so graciously provided them. They had been wandering for so long that the sun had set, but the forest was so thick that they had barely noticed. As the sun rose the next day, the Dark Hunters had finally found the end of the trail in the form of Shriek's weapon hanging from a vine in front of the mouth of a large cave. Sneering, the Shadowed One cut the vine with his staff; the weapon was immediately snatched by an eager Dark Hunter. Their weapons armed, the band of hunters cautiously walked into the dark cave.
For several minutes, the Dark Hunters simply shuffled blindly in the inky blackness, the only source of light far behind them. However, soon the Shadowed One felt the ground beneath his feet change from stone and dirt to cold, stiff metal. With a dull bang, several long glass tubes flickered with light, illuminating the room and all the Dark Hunters gasped at the sight before them.
Indeed, there was a Brotherhood laboratory on the island, but something had obviously gone horribly wrong. Beakers where shattered, equipment was destroyed, and there were slash marks everywhere on the walls. All horizontal surfaces were covered in a layer of dust, as if they had sat idle for years.
"Boss, look at this," one of the Dark Hunters said, waving the Shadowed One over to his position. The Dark Hunter leader walked forward and saw the dusty armor of what was once a Makuta. There were several slash marks that cut through the armor entirely, and entire sections of the chest armor were torn off violently. Near the body was a shattered mound of metal that the Shadowed One presumed was once the Makuta's mask. The Shadowed One was slightly jealous that there was something on the island that could kill a Makuta with such sheer brutality, and while he would never admit to his underlings, slightly frightened as well.
Suddenly, the lights shut off with a bang, prompting the less disciplined Dark Hunters to scream in fright. Holding their weapons nervously, they all swiveled their heads to and fro, trying to pierce the suffocating darkness. A low, bestial growl seemed to emanate from all around them, and one of the Dark Hunters instinctively fired his weapon, striking only the wall.
One hunter whimpered nervously as he swung his weapon wildly, his throat tightening in fear. He sensed something near him, but before he could react, a pair of clawed hands grabbed him by the head and pulled him up screaming. The other Dark Hunters immediately fired in his direction, and the screaming ceased. Another hunter started backing up fearfully, but a pair of claws clutched his head and twisted, his neck breaking with a wet snap.
"Forget this, I'm getting out of here!" the final Dark Hunter to accompany the Shadowed One shouted frightfully and tried to run out of the room. He ran, but mere seconds later, he felt a pair of blades slam into his chest, piercing him completely. The Dark Hunter could do nothing but gurgle weakly as he felt his life slipping away.
The Shadowed One stood nervously as he heard the last of his escorts expiring, leaving him utterly alone in the abyssal room.
"You are the one who sent me the message," the Shadowed One said confidently into the void. "What is your name, stranger?" The Shadowed One heard a bestial growling, and then he saw two blood-red eyes piercing the gloom in front of him.
"Name?" the creature hissed in a cold, calm tone that sent chills up the Shadowed One's spine. "I have no name. But the people here call me the Darkness."
"So, Darkness, what is your story?" the Shadowed One asked, putting on a display of bravado.
"Why don't you tell me?" Darkness replied, his red eyes moving across the room.
"I think that once upon a time, you were something else," the Shadowed One said, remembering the scene he saw while the lights were active. "Maybe a Matoran, maybe something different. You were captured by the Brotherhood of Makuta, and experimented on. You broke free, and you killed the Makuta who used you in retaliation." Darkness chuckled maliciously as he moved behind the Shadowed One.
"You weave an interesting tale," Darkness complimented. "Now what are you doing here?" he demanded.
"I was here to kill you for slaying one of my employees, but since I'm here, how about I offer you a position within the ranks of the Dark Hunters?" the Shadowed One offered. Darkness was silent for several tense moments before he responded.
"What do you offer if I should accept your invitation?" Darkness inquired curiously.
"Wealth, power, fame," the Shadowed One replied, shrugging. He had expected Darkness to accept immediately upon hearing his offer. What he was not expecting was for Darkness to laugh at him.
"Wealth, power and fame? That is what you have to offer?" Darkness asked incredulously. "I have no need for such things. Why would I want wealth when I have all that I will ever need? Why would I need power when I already rule this island? Why would I need fame when the people here tremble at the mere thought of me? Now tell me..." he trailed off, and the Shadowed One gasped slightly as he felt the tip of a blade digging into his back and another blade pressed against his throat, "...what do you have to offer me?" Darkness hissed into his ear.
"How about I promise that on any missions I send you on, you are permitted to kill as many as you wish as long as you accomplish the original job?" the Shadowed One offered desperately. The Shadowed One remained tense as Darkness did not reply for nearly a minute, but he finally removed the blades. A pair of large claws wrapped around the Shadowed One's shoulders and turned him around.
"I will consider your proposal," Darkness whispered into the Shadowed One's ear. "Walk in this direction to exit the cave. We will speak of this more when you return to your ship," he continued, giving the Shadowed One a gentle nudge forward.
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Clearly, Darkness is not a very nice guy. But I guess you can't if you want to get into the Dark Hunters.
Don't forget to read and review!
