M.I.A. Ch 15
"What was Ruunaja doing at his village in the first place?" Scott asked with skepticism.
"Apparently the Nui-Jagas were working for him." explained Saber. "They were
supposed to scare the Matoran away so he could open a hidden reserve of energized
protodermis. When that failed, he came to do the job himself. And he brought friends."
Xipher saw Vaptech fly across the village before landing hard on his stomach. It was
just the beginning of the chaotic scene that unfolded in front of him. While Saber helped
Matoran escape, his brothers clashed against various types of Rahkshi. The only Toa missing
was Naromia. He looked around for her until he saw two dark silhouettes contrasting against
the flames in the background. The one to his right was tall and masculine, while the one on the
left he could make out as Naromia.
Worried for her safety, he sprinted over. As the tall being swung his staff at the Toa,
Xipher pounced and tackled him to the ground.
"Get off me!" grunted the stranger.
A sudden surge of electricity pulsed into Xipher's body. He yelped and let go.
Both recovered and got back to their feet.
The stranger took a good look at Xipher and scoffed. "What are you suppose to be, her
pet?"
Xipher growled. "I'm a Toa." he spat.
The intruder chuckled. "And I'm the Great Spirit."
Xipher's ears pulled back while he flared his teeth. "Leave this place." he snarled. "And
we'll spare you the trouble of an all-out brawl." He was answered with a mocking laugh.
"Quite the contrary, Toa-?"
"Xipher." he hissed.
"Ruunaja." replied the other in an elegant, yet sinister manner "I'll have you know that
it's you who should be leaving. Leave now and I'll spare you a slow and painful death."
Xipher immediately pounced on him. The Makuta used his staff to push Xipher away by
the chest, and flung the mutant over him and onto the ground.
He then turned to Naromia. "I'd put him back on his leash if I were you."
She replied with a cross face. "Leave him alone." She channeled her powers through
her sword and fired a large blast of water.
Before the jet reached the Makuta he teleported. Shocked, Naromia frantically looked
around.
Xipher got back on his feet and saw him sneak up to Naromia from behind. As he
readied his staff to strike, Xipher went into a full sprint. He jumped and tackled his sister. The
shock of the blow made her release her grip on her sword. Mid-tackle, the staff was thrust
down and impaled the mutant's tail to the ground. Xipher let out a scream and looked over his
shoulder. His tail was caught between the two blades and dug itself far enough into the ground
to keep him from pulling the end of his tail out. Just trying to was proving to be extremely
painful for him.
Ruunaja took Naromia's sword and examined it before looking back at Xipher. "While I
enjoy seeing people suffer, I have a busy schedule to keep up with, so I'll make this very quick
for you." He raised the blade high into the air.
There was a brief moment for Xipher, where everything felt like it was moving in slow
motion. At first, all hope of escape was gone, but from the corner of his eye, he could see his
sister looking at the unfolding scene with dismay. Yet there was something in her eyes that
refused to accept this as the end. Whether or not it was instinct, or the way she looked at him,
he decided this would not be the end. And a crazy idea came to him.
As the sword went down he took a giant leap forward. He cringed his teeth and grunted
at the pain. The end of his tail pulled free, but not without a severe, long gash. It was a relief to
be free, but another surge of pain erupted; where the tail connects to his body. He fell to the
ground, letting out a powerful screech.
"Xipher!" yelped Naromia.
When he got on his hands and knees he looked over his shoulder and saw his tail,
several yards away, wriggling around like a snake with no head. He then looked over at
Ruunaja, who fiddled with the blood-covered sword.
"I guess you'll suffer after all." he spat.
Xipher stood up to face him again, but the pain still throbbed and he squatted down.
Naromia got on her feet and summoned all the water in the surrounding area and
formed a giant wave. It appeared in the blink of an eye and took the Makuta by surprise,
sweeping him off his feet and carrying him over a nearby hut. She ran to Xipher and supported
him as he tried to stand up.
"Xipher you need to go." she pleaded.
"No," he barked. "Not without you."
"Please brother, you can't continue on like this."
"Neither can you without your sword."
To his surprise she replied with a warm smile. "I can get a new sword anytime. Friends
however, are very hard to replace. Now go."
He paused over it and then slowly stood up. "No," he said firmly. "We do this as a team."
Her smile disappeared and she looked at him with a straight face. "I appreciate it,
brother." She then clutched her fist. "But you're in no condition to fight."
Xipher heard something roaring form behind. He turned around and was met with a
giant wall of water. He yelped as it swept him off his feet and carried him to the edge of the
forest. He was gently deposited on the ground and left to cough the water out.
"If you really want to help, tend to the Matoran!" she shouted as she ran to Ruunaja,
whom had recovered.
"Sister, no!" he coughed.
Naromia grabbed the Makuta's staff. With a good, hard tug she was able to free it.
"Well, this will be interesting." smiled Ruunaja as he tossed her sword to his right hand.
Xipher heard the weapons clash against each other and looked up. Naromia was
throwing everything she had at him, occasionally shooting jets of water at the Makuta. Ruunaja
fought back with shadow bolts. It looked like they were tied, but considering all the powers a
Makuta had, that could change very quickly.
Xipher got back on his feet and drew out his blades. Regardless of what she advised,
he was going to fight, even if it resulted in his demise. But then he felt something snag his feet.
He looked down and saw roots coming to life; springing out of the ground and wrapping
themselves around his leg. He was stunned, but quickly snapped out of it and began to cut
them off. But the roots were entangling him faster than he could cut.
A Rahkshi of plant life approached him and let out a screech. Xipher returned the
gesture and roared at it. It tilted its head to the side, almost as if curious about what he had
snared. Xipher furiously fought off the roots. One wrapped around his wrist and began to pull it
downward. He quickly cut it off and freed his hand, but the decapitated root split itself into
several more and advanced upward along his body.
Angered at his lack of progress, he leaned himself forwards to swipe the Rahkshi, but
even with his blades it was far out of his reach. This made him cross. His spikes rattled and he
flared his teeth. The Rahkshi wasn't buying into his intimidation.
Xipher's eyes changed to a fiery red and his pupils took on the shape of cross hairs.
Suddenly a beam of heat vision erupted out of his eyes and struck the Rahkshi. Its head armor
opened and it screeched as the heat melted a large hole through its chest armor. Xipher pulled
himself back, shocked. The Rahkshi armor collapsed to its side. The Kraata inside quickly
squirmed out and slithered away. The roots stopped advancing. By then, they had already
reached his chest.
Xipher's eyes changed back. He had a surprised look on his face. He never knew he
could do that. But he was in the end happy with the results. He snorted at the Kraata and then
began to remove the roots. He then looked at Naromia to see how she was fairing. It wasn't
good.
She looked weary from the fight. The Toa of water was barely able to dodge Ruunaja's
attacks. He had to hurry. Quickly, he cut off the roots, but stopped when he heard her yell.
When he looked back up he saw Ruunaja twisting Naromia's arm to her back. She expended
the last of her energy trying to pull herself away.
Ruunaja leaned over and whispered something in her ear. Xipher could pick up his
voice, but couldn't make out what he said. However, his sister's expression gave a big clue.
For a brief moment Naromia's eyes locked on to Xipher's. They appeared almost watery, and
without hope.
That eye contact was broken when Ruunaja drove her sword into her back and out her
torso. She let out a quick gasp. The Makuta let her go and took a step back while she clasped
the blade and fell to her knees.
Xipher's eyes shot wide open. "NAROMIA!"
Sam could feel her heart sink. "I'm so sorry, I-I didn't know."
"It's not your fault." He placed his hands firmly on the ground and stared at the fire.
Then he hissed. "It's all his fault." he spat. His claws dug into the rock. "You should've seen the
look on his mask. The way he smiled as she fell. It was sickening!"
Sam noticed he was breathing harder, and became a little uneasy.
"Then he walked away as if it was nothing while she lay dying." He panted heatedly and
his eyes turned red. Then the next words he spoke scared Sam, as his voice suddenly became
deeper. "I wanted to kill him!" He then appeared to be in pain as he curled up.
Sam noticed his body beginning to change and jumped to her feet. "Xipher please, calm
down." She ran over and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Xipher!"
He swung his arm at her and roared. She staggered backwards and out of the way in
time, but it surprised her so much that she tripped and fell on her back. Xipher towered over
her, gazing downward. She frantically crawled back and kept her hand close to her pistol.
When Xipher saw the petrified look on her face, his eyes changed back to blue. For a
moment, Sam thought she saw confusion on his face. He then looked at his hands. His claws
were elongated, but slowly changed back to their original length. He looked back at Sam with
wide eyes and a gapped mouth as he realized what just happened. His ears pulled back,
followed by his spikes.
Sam kept still. "Xipher?" she asked quietly.
The mutant slowly walked backwards before spinning around and making a run for the
exit.
"Xipher!" She scrambled to her feet and ran after him. "You can't run away from your
problems."
Xipher stopped outside the entrance and faced her. "In case you haven't notice, I don't
have a problem, I am the problem! In just a few years I go from a Matoran to this- this…
Monstrosity! And don't try to deny it, you saw what I was… what I did to Mike." He shook his
head. "I'm sorry, but you're all better off without me." He then pointed a finger towards the
coast. "Just go. I'll try to hold them off as long as I can."
"Don't." she begged.
"It's not up for discussion. Now go."
She looked up with pleading eyes.
Seeing that she wouldn't go, he roared. "Go!"
Sam flinched and slowly stepped backwards, and then turned around and walked away.
She stopped for a moment and looked over her shoulder. Xipher hung his head low, with ears
down and spikes folded close to him. He grabbed his cloak and pulled it tightly around him as
he slowly walked back into the cave. She let out a quick huff and then went on her way back to
the village.
The rain poured heavily. Sam hugged herself to keep warm. Slowly she made her way
down the hill; slipping occasionally as the mud gave way under her feet. Soon the rain
lightened up to a shower. It wasn't much relief to her, but it was better than a downpour.
She took the time to reflect on what Xipher had told her. But it was Xipher's sudden
change that was most revealing. He started to change when he was angry. She stopped. No, it
couldn't be anger; otherwise their first encounter would have ended more violently. It had to be
something deeper: rage. It all made sense to her. She then realized what happened.
Xipher became enraged at his sister's death, turned into an even more monstrous form
of himself and attacked. There was, however, one problem: on Destral, why did he attack
Saber and her friends instead of Ruunaja? It didn't make any sense. She looked back up the
hill. She doubted Xipher would tell her, but hopefully Saber would have the answer to that. As
she considered the idea, a bush rustled.
She spun around but didn't see what caused it. She kept still and listened. A deep growl
made her stiff. She slowly turned around and looked into the glowing eyes of a Muaka. It flared
its saber teeth and opened its mouth. Sam slowly stepped backwards and drew out her gun.
She pointed it into the air and fired. The shot was loud, but did nothing to scare the Rahi. It
didn't even flinch. Sam gulped and aimed the gun at the tiger's head. It roared and charged at
her. She didn't hesitate to pull the trigger. Two shots fired and made their marks on the
Muaka's head. The Rahi yelped and dropped to the ground.
Sam took the moment to calm herself, but another Muaka emerging from her right got
her heart jumping again. A large snake accompanied the beast, which she found very odd.
Three Nui-Jagas came from her left, a deer-like Rahi appeared from behind and from above
were two Barakas monkeys. Everywhere she looked there were Rahi, all appearing to put their
differences aside to fight one enemy: Her. A Rahkshi marched up and stood behind the Nui-
Jagas. It was magenta in color, while its spikes and staff glowed a soft white. Its head armor
opened up and it let out a screech. In unison the Rahi let out their calls and charged.
She spun around and ran. "Xipher!" she screamed, hoping he was able to hear her. A
Muaka flanked her form the left. Sam slid to a stop and fired her gun. Two struck it in the chest
and a third went through the head and took it down. There was a hiss that came from behind.
Sam turned around while moving sideways, when a giant stinger darted forward and slashed
her along her upper left arm. She yelped and covered her wound for a moment, and then took
a few steps back and fired a shot into the scorpion's head.
More Rahi were coming. She turned around to run, but only tracked a few feet when
more Rahi cut off her path. Frantic, she looked around for an escape, but found none. As she
took a step back she tripped over a fallen branch. The magenta Rahkshi observed from behind
the Rahi as they enclosed on her.
Staying near the ground, she looked around. Each step closer they took made her
wonder if this was really how it would end. Even with a half loaded gun, she couldn't fight them
all off. She heard a branch from high above shake. She looked up to see what was coming and
in a split second curled into a ball and covered her head.
Xipher landed on all fours, right above her and let out a deep roar. The Rahi jumped
back, spooked by the sound. Sam peeked around. His cloak obscured everything behind her.
When Xipher stood up and roared again she looked at the Rahkshi. It used several clicks and
whistles to communicate with the Rahi. They seemed a little hesitant to attack Xipher, but
eventually a Nui Jaga mustered up the courage to strike.
Xipher grabbed its stinger mid-strike and ripped it off. Xipher roared again, but the Rahi
still didn't move. They were in a conflict between running from their greatest fear and obeying
their leader, and Sam realized it. She jumped to her feet and shot the Rahkshi. The first bullet
ricocheted off the shoulder armor. The second hit it in the center of the chest. As it staggered
back in surprise, a third bullet went through an opening in the armor and bore through the right
side of its head.
The Rahkshi let out a half squeal as it felt to the ground and squirmed. The glow of its
spikes and staff faded as it slowly failed until it was motionless. Sam remained stiff as she and
Xipher examined the Rahi around. They seemed unsure of what to do. Xipher growled and let
out one more roar. All of the Rahi scrambled, crying out with squawks and chirps. When they
were out of sight, Sam gave a sigh of relief.
Xipher crouched down and spun her around and held her firmly by the arms. "Are you
alright?"
Sam quickly nodded. Yeah… yeah I'm alright. Thanks."
When he let go she rubbed her arm. Xipher noticed the tear in the sleeve. There was
blood around the edges. He pulled her arm towards him and moved the cloth aside. The gash
was small, nearly three inches long, but was over a half-inch deep. There was a slight
discoloration appearing around the wound.
"What got you?" he asked.
She took a moment to recall. "One of those giant scorpion-things. Nui Jaga I think it is."
His eyes widened and he took a quick whiff of air above the wound. The discoloration
fully developed and spread out like roots.
Xipher quickly pulled his head back. "Sam get on." he rushed.
She tilted her head to the side. "What?"
Xipher then grabbed her by the arm and pulled her up. She yelped as she was thrown
over him and onto his back.
"Hold on tight." he ordered.
She didn't hesitate and wrapped her arms firmly around his neck and looked over his
shoulder. Without warning he ran. Sam's grip tightened for several seconds before calming
down enough to relax.
"Where are we going?!" she asked. "The camp is the other way."
"We're not going to the camp." he barked. "Now shut up." He leaped into the air and
landed on a branch. From there he jumped from tree to tree, while Sam did her best not to look
down.
For over a half hour he jumped through the canopy of the forest. The rain had
disappeared, yet the forest grew darker as dusk approached.
"Where exactly are you taking me?" asked Sam.
"You'll see," he panted. The weary mutant slowly carried her uphill. Soon the slope
plateaued and he leaped to the ground and ran.
Sam was feeling very tired and a little lightheaded. Gradually her grip loosened and she
slipped off his back, letting out a quick yell on her way down. Xipher immediately stopped and
spun around. She got on her feet in a sluggish manner and once up she swayed slightly from
side to side.
"Sam, are you-"
"I'm fine." She walked towards him tipsily, but only made a few steps before falling to
her knees.
He rushed over and scooped her in his arms before turning around and running again.
"Just a little farther." he told her.
Sam looked around and quickly recognized the area. Xipher had brought her to the
Osprey. He took her to the entrance and placed her on the floor.
"Wait here," he ordered, and then left. But he stayed within her sight, while he stuck his
head towards the ground and sniffed the air.
Sam slowly got on to her feet. Immediately she felt lightheaded and sat down on the
crate. Even though she was drenched, she felt very warm. She wiped the rain and sweat off
her forehead and laid back against the wall. Several minutes passed and the urge to cool off
grew on her. She slowly sat herself up and started to pull her shirt off and over her head.
Xipher returned with two baseball-sized roots. When he went inside, he paused in
shock. The veins along her arm were dark blue and were spreading. She faced him with dark
circles around her sunken eyes, while the dark veins climbed her cheek. He had never seen
such a symptom before and it worried him.
He extended his hand out. "Here, eat these."
"I'm not hungry." she softly murmured.
"Sam you have to." he said forcefully. "This is the only thing that can cure the venom,
and I'm not even sure it will work because you're, well…. Human."
She stared at the roots before slowly taking them from him. She took a bite and her face
contorted. "Man, that's bitter."
"Just eat it." he snapped, but did so gently. "All of it." He turned around and left the craft
to scavenge amongst the crates and supplied left behind.
Sam looked at the root in a disgusted manner, like a child looking at the spinach on their
plate. She brought the root up to her mouth and slowly gnawed on it. By the time Xipher came
back she had barely ate the first root.
Xipher walked passed her with an armful of supplies. "Good, now eat the other one."
She gave him a look of displeasure before chewing on the second root. Xipher dropped
the supplies and went through them. He pulled out a pair of dry clothes and threw them to
Sam. Xipher then unwrapped a foam bed pad and laid it on the ground, followed by a sleeping
bag and a pillow.
As he took out another sleeping bag he looked over to Sam. She already had changed
camisoles, and was now putting on the dry pair of pants. He then noticed a small piece of
unfinished root on the crate. Considering how much of it she ate, he let it pass and assisted
her to the bed.
"You should really put on a shirt. It's going to get cold."
San laid down and brought the sleeping bag up to her waist. "I know." she softly replied.
"But I feel so hot."
"I'm sure you do, but soon you'll be shivering."
"Don't worry, I'll be fine."
Xipher wasn't convinced. He took off his cloak and hung it from the top of the hanger
door to serve as a makeshift drape. The room was almost completely dark. Sam could only
see the soft glow of Xipher's blue eyes and his heart light. The dark was no problem for him.
His pupils changed into cross hairs and he walked around, being able to see as if it were
daylight.
He curled up on the floor and placed the sleeping bag over him as a blanket. He then
spoke softly to Sam. "Get better, okay?"
Sam looked over at his eyes and smiled weakly. "I didn't realize you had a gentle and
'nurturing' side." She saw his eyes grow wide.
"I don't." he rushed.
"Yes you do. You actually care about us."
Xipher's ears pulled back. "Not always. At first, I didn't want anything to do with you or
your group."
"And yet you stayed with us. Why?"
Xipher paused. When he spoke his voice was filled with regret. "Because I- I wanted to
sabotage the raft."
Sam looked at him with surprise. "Why would you do that?" she said with
disappointment.
"Because you're Humans. Out there they will reject you, turn a blind eye to your pleads
for help. They'll hunt you down and cast you out."
"Just like you?"
He paused. "Yeah, just like me. I just didn't want you all to go through what I
experienced." He moved his head away in shame.
Sam stretched forth her hand and placed it on his cheek. "Xipher, what you did was
wrong, but it still proves that you care for us. You taught us how to survive here, saved us from
wild animals and came all the way over to rescue me. You might not see it, but you're a good
Toa."
He jerked his head away. "No. I'm not. A good Toa doesn't break the Toa code."
"Which is?"
"To not kill."
For a moment Sam was speechless, as she was hesitant to ask. "You changed into that
'thing'. After she died."
He nodded. "I remember holding her in my arms. When her heart light faded, I felt hurt.
That hurt turned to anger, and then grew into rage. Then I felt something odd… power. I
openly accepted it, believing I could use it to stop Ruunaja, but I quickly realized something
wasn't right. I-I tried to stop it, but my emotions were overwhelming. That's when everything
went blank."
An unearthly roar shot though the village. Ruunaja, the Toa and Rahkshi froze and
looked around. The Makuta didn't notice Xipher jumping over a wall of fire and running towards
him. The mutant let out another roar and jabbed his blades into Ruunaja's back, which came
out though his stomach. The act took everyone by surprise, especially Ruunaja.
As Xipher pulled them back, Ruunaja stepped away and assessed his wound. The
blades had punctured the protosteel armor, allowing anitdermis to leak out. He thought of it as
nothing to really worry about, but when Xipher used his laser vision and disintegrated some of
this essence, he reconsidered. He covered his wound the best he could. "Take him out!" he
ordered before teleporting away.
All the Rahkshi diverted their attention from the Toa and attacked Xipher. He hissed at
them and charged. The Toa slowly lowered their weapons and watched with a mixture of awe
and terror as their mutant brother slew the Rahkshi with ferocity and aggression. As the last
Rahkshi fell, Xipher looked over their torn and mangled remains.
The Toa of air cleared his throat. "Well, that was an interesting way to defeat Makutasons…
and you have an interesting new look."
Xipher turned and faced them. They all took a step back when they saw his blood-red
eyes and long fangs. He growled loudly at them.
Terun had a concerned look across his mask. "Brother?"
The mutant let out a roar and then pounced at them.
"He killed them, didn't he?" asked Scott.
Saber's ears pulled back. "Terun survived by creating a wall of fire too high for him to
get over. However, it separated him away from the Matoran."
Josh's mouth gapped open. "He didn't."
She nodded. "He went after them." Her head sunk down. "Vaptech and I did what we
could to stop him, but by the time Vaptech was able to knock him out he had managed to kill
over a dozen of them, including the Turaga."
Scott rubbed his forehead. "But why? If Ruunaja is the one he was after, why kill his
own people?"
"Nobody knows." Saber whispered. "Not even Xipher."
"What do you mean?" asked Oscar.
"Upon waking up, he had no memory of the event. Not even of the monster he became."