Round 2

Kraken

Kraken sat on top of a tall tree, he had been sent to find the Makuta's location, a giant spiked ball had come flying into a tree next to him. He had decided to investigate it, upon climbing a tree, and looking out, he had noticed a new clearing where there hadn't been one before. Now he had to decide what to do, go and get a closer look, or make his way back to the village, and relay the information to Hewkii.

He decided to investigate further, he dropped out of the tree, and quietly made his way to the clearing, then he stopped. There clearing trees, was his best friend, Miekka, he stopped, hesitant to approach, Miekka stopped and stared at him. Kraken gripped his Trident a bit tighter then slowly began taking steps forward, Miekka just stood there staring at him. Then Miekka drew his sword, and attacked, Kraken blocked the strike with his trident, but was unprepared for the strike from Miekka's shield. With a grunt he hit the ground, and rolled back to his feet as Miekka struck the ground with his sword, Kraken took the chance to lunge with his Trident.

Miekka easily blocked the blow, and went on the offensive, Kraken was forced back, blow after struck him, every now and then one would hit him, and he would scream a little. Suddenly Miekka stopped, and grabbed his head, the shadows seemed to draw back from hi armour, his eyes showed pain, a lot of it.

"Kr… Kraken…" Miekka said in a pained voice.
"Miekka, fight it!"
"Kraken, remember… remember the Soturi…" Miekka turned then let out a roar, and began running in the direction of the cave.

Kraken just sat there for a moment, dumbfounded, he had no idea what had just happened, Miekka was obviously fighting it, whether or not he was winning was unclear. But what Miekka had said struck Kraken more than the fight with his friend, Remember the Soturi, Kraken had heard the name before, in tales from a long gone age. He remembered enough about the tales to recall that Soturi had been chosen Tohunga to lead the fight in some great war before the time of darkness. The name seemed to inspire him, it had an uplifting effect on him, but what did the Soturi have to do with defeating Makuta Ranux, and freeing Miekka? Kraken had no idea, but he knew he needed to get this information back to the elder and Toa Hewkii, he got up and began running back to the village.

As he entered the gate the guard waved, Kraken barely noticed as he ran through, he had to find Toa Hewkii. When he got to the hut where Hewkii had been staying, he found only the Elder, looking at some maps of the island. He noticed Kraken enter and turned to look at him, he spoke in his usual raspy voice.

"What news have you?" he asked Kraken.
"I know where the Makuta, and Miekka is." Kraken answered gasping for breath.
"Where are they?"
"to the west of the village, they are clearing an area, killing the trees." Kraken said pointing west.
"Are they both there?" The Elder asked pulling a stool over for Kraken to sit on.
"Yes, Miekka seemed to be fighting the shadow leeches influence, he… he told me to remember the Soturi."
The Elder's eyes went wide, "The Soturi? Now there is a name I have heard in many years." The Elder said sitting down on a stool facing Kraken.
"What use is remembering the Soturi, if there are none left?" Kraken said.
"The name itself is inspiring to us Tohunga, it was said that the Soturi could change the tide of a battle with a single word." The Elder said gesturing with his hand.
"But what use is remembering them, they can't help us." Kraken said slightly agitated.
"Kraken, did Miekka ever tell you about the ancient wars on Spherus Magna?" The Elder asked.
"No, we are too young to remember it, it was millennia ago." Kraken answered.
"That is not entirely true, yes they were millennia ago, but Miekka is not young, he fought in them, just like many of our best warriors, but like many of our best warriors, he does not want to remember them, they were horrible, and bloody. They remember the tragedy of losing friends, and killing countless others, their minds create mental blocks to the memories, they forget what happened. Did you ever notice how Miekka sometimes looked out into nowhere, with a pained expression on his face as though he were trying to remember something? That was the memories trying to resurface." The Elder stated, "I am surprised Miekka even forgot the Soturi, he looked up to them, he was a good fighter, if the war had continued, he might've been made a Soturi."

Kraken sat in stunned silence, he never knew that Miekka had so much history, all he knew was that he had been good at combat. He had trained Kraken, and helped him get out of trouble, but he had always seemed to have wisdom beyond his years. He seemed to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders, he never seemed to be able to take a joke, and hated when the hunt came to killing the beast.

"You must go and alert Toa Hewkii, it is time to move out, before they can have more time to build their defences." The Elder said returning to his maps.

Kraken still a little bewildered got up and exited the hut in search of Toa Hewkii, it was time to take on the Makuta.

Hewkii

Hewkii swung his axe, then lunged with his shield, jumping back and defending with his new shield. The maneuvers he was practicing had been taught to him by another Toa, the movements involved striking quickly then doubling back and striking with your secondary weapon. Practicing it as frequently has he did, he knew it off by heart, he could easily defeat a Makuta with it.

"How is it?" Nyrax asked.
"Its maneuverability is amazing." Hewkii answered, thrusting his new shield back and forth.
"Glad you like it, will it suit you for the fight against the Makuta?"
"Yes, and hopefully many fights afterwards." Hewkii replied lowering his weapons.
"Well then I'll take my leave of you, it has been nice working with you." Nyrax said, approaching Hewkii with a raised hand.
"Likewise." Hewkii said, shaking hands with the fire Tohunga.

The Tohunga and left toward the forges, just as he passed out of view, Kraken came running forward. His armour had a view new scratches in it, and he was panting, he took a moment to catch his breath before speaking.

"I have found the location of the Makuta." He said, handing a map to Hewkii.
Hewkii examined the map, "Then we move out in 3 hours, Ranux has had too much time to prepare."
"I agree, I will have our packs ready by then, the village would like to see us off." Kraken, said standing up straight, "we'll be carrying a lot of explosive material if that's alright with you."
"That's fine, get on it, we need to move quickly." Hewkii said, strapping his weapons to his back.
"Oh one more thing, we may not be able to help your friend."
Kraken stood for a moment in contemplation, before answering, "Alright, let's do our best to eliminate the Makuta, the safety of the island matters more than a single Tohunga."
"I hope you show that same conviction in battle." Hewkii said as he made his way towards the medical hut.

3 hours later Hewkii made his way to the west gate of the village, only to find a ground of Tohunga awaiting him. His arrival was met with cheers, Hewkii's face was an expression of sorrow, he hated a happy send off before a mission. The last time something like this happened was on the final battle of a liberation mission on an island in the eastern hemisphere. 7 Toa units had been involved in the overall liberation, of the 42 Toa sent on the mission 29 walked away from it, 3 Makuta had been present on island. Hewkii lost some good friends on that one, shook his head trying to shake the memory, walked over to Kraken who was talking to some villagers.

"Ready?" He asked as he picked up a pack.
"Yes." Kraken answered.

They set out from the west gate not long after that, the walk was done in silence, Hewkii mentally preparing for battle, Kraken waiting for Hewkii to talk. Finally Kraken broke the silence,

"So what's it like beyond the great darkness?"
"There are other islands, inhabited by many different species of warriors, and Rahi." Hewkii answered.
"What is your home island called?"
"My home island is Mat…" Hewkii paused for a moment, "My home is Metru-Nui."
"What's it like? Is it like Rappa-Nui?"
"No it's a sprawling city, filled with many Matoran, and defended by the Toa Nuva." Hewkii said, feeling a twinge of remorse for leaving it.
"What are the Toa Nuva?" Kraken asked even more curious than he was before.
"They are great and powerful warriors, that came before me, and defended me when I was a Matoran."
"You weren't always a Toa?" Kraken said in surprise.
"Once I was a Matoran… It was a long time ago, it does not matter now, what matters is getting to the Makuta." Hewkii said slightly annoyed.

Just then a clearing came into sight, Hewkii crouched down low, and drew his axe and shield, Kraken did the same drawing his Trident. As they approached it looked much the same as it had before, except Miekka was no where to be seen, and it was… too quiet. Hewkii cautiously moved into the clearing, followed by Kraken, there was no sign of the Makuta, or Miekka. Suddenly a wall of Protodermis erupted from the ground between Hewkii and Kraken, separating them. Hewkii couldn't see Kraken, but he had other concerns, Makuta Ranux walked into view, smiling.

"Welcome to my fortress, Toa." He said raising his arms, "It will be your final resting place!" Ranux lunged at Hewkii.

Hewkii had just enough time to block with his new shield, he got knocked back, swung his axe, it dug into Ranux's should armour. Ranux let loose with a stream of Protodermis, sending Hewkii flying back, then shooting darts. The darts hit the ground right in front of Hewkii. Ranux wore a confused look, Hewkii was using the power of the Garai to control gravity. He lowered the gravity around him, and lunged at Ranux, as he raised his axe, he increased its gravity and dug it into Ranux's armour. Ranux let out a scream then shot streams of protodermis into the ground, then a pillar of protodermis erupted around Hewkii.

Hewkii was stuck, he could barely move in the stuff, suddenly it hardened, trapping him, Luckily he had a re-breather attached to his armour. He began thinking of ways to get out, then he remembered, he had a pack full of explosives strapped to his back.

Makuta Ranux

Ranux turned away from the pillar he had just created to trap a rather annoying Toa, when all of a sudden it exploded. The Toa came flying at him, mask glowing, axe and shield raised, Ranux caught them with his claws, but there weight tore through his arms. He screamed and released whips of protodermis, each whip flew around at a blur, he wrapped several around the Toa and through him before he could increase his weight.

He began whipping the protodermis at an even faster pace, when they struck the Toa they easily ripped through his armour, fluid dripped from the gashes. The Toa raised his shield defensively, it was useless the whips wrapped around it and struck the Toa's head and chest. It let out a scream, then reeled back in pain, Ranux did not relent, he took steps forward with his whipping streams of protodermis. The Toa looked up, then his mask began glowing, Ranux whipped him again, but he kept his mask active, Ranux wrapped his whips around the Toa's neck then flung him against the wall of protodermis. The Toa let out a grown then stopped moving, out of the corner of his eye Ranux saw an object falling, it was too late by the time he realized what it was.

An explosion rocked the ground, cracks rippled across the wall of protodermis, Ranux stood damaged by the blast. He let out a roar, then unleashed a tidal wave of protodermis, the wall began crumbling, Ranux gathered the chunks in his wave and directed them towards the Toa. But the Toa was gone, and the wave made a crater in the ground, Ranux looked around trying to locate the Toa. He heard a grunt from above, looking up the Toa was floating, clutching his side, Ranux shot a protodermis arrow into him, the Toa made a sound like a pinned Rahi, then fell. Ranux caught him and flung him at the ground, the Toa did not move, his heart light dangerously dim, Ranux let out a roar of victory, then allowed protoedermis to begin repairing his damaged form.

Miekka

Miekka swung his sword again, and again, each time striking the trident of his opponent, Kraken, the Protodermis wall separating him and his master had been destroyed. The Toa, Hewkii, lay in a pile severely wounded, and soon Kraken would join him, he thought has he spun and struck with his shield. Kraken appeared to be an even match for him, the fight was getting nowhere, but he kept striking, Kraken was bound to slip up eventually.

Miekka blacked out, his shadow self took control, and Miekka was transported back to Spherus Magna. The shadow Miekka increased the speed of his strikes trying to overpower Kraken, Miekka saw the final battle before the planet split. Kraken tripped, and the shadow Miekka took the chance to strike, Kraken rolled out of the way in time, Miekka dug his sword into a jungle Agori. Kraken stood and lunged with his Trident, the shadow Miekka countered and struck Kraken with the butt of his sword, Miekka locked blades with a Glatorian. The shadow Miekka managed to get past Kraken`s defence and dug his sword into his shoulder, Miekka watched as the Glatorian towering over him was pulled away by a Soturi with a Scythe.

The Soturi spoke words of encouragement, and suddenly Miekka snapped back into the present in full control of his body. He let go of his blade, and dropped his shield, he grabbed his head and backed up a few steps, he let out a scream. Ranux turned to look at him, Miekka continued to back away, clutching his head.

"End it!" Ranux yelled.

Miekka's head was a battleground of conflicting thoughts, one side advocating the finishing blow, and the other demanding to be set free.

"N… NO!" Miekka yelled in pain.

Without hesitation Ranux shot a Protodermis spike into Miekka's chest, Kraken let out scream, Miekka blacked out. He returned to Spherus Magna, this time at the beginning, he saw the entirety of the war in a matter of seconds. It seemed like an eternity to him, he could faintly hear Kraken yelling at him to hang on, but it was so hard…