Lego owns Bionicle and the name Ketongu. Hasbro owns Transformers and the name Xanthium. Galem owns the following characters: Tali, Ava, Amber, Iris, Diego, Alyan, Adhira, Valera, and Kasar.
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Chapter 7: Going after him
As Billy, Outilisa, Slash, Ops, and Tali rode in the ship, dubbed the "Star 5000" by the Toa Rahayu who had used it on a daily basis before joining in on this war, everyone was tasked with keeping a close eye on the windshield whether they were sitting or standing. Ops thought it quite strange how this search had actually begun. One second, he and Tali were enjoying a peaceful stasis in her room, only to be awoken by a knock on their door from Billy, Outilisa, and Slash, whom had figured out that Paradox had left, due to the fact that he wasn't anywhere in the base.
It was rather obvious that Paradox had left to find Xanthium, as to what he planned to do once he found his brother, they didn't know. Regardless, there was no way any of them were letting him go in alone. They all knew how skilled Xanthium was, as he had given a perfect demonstration when Rack had woken him up. Though Paradox had just beaten Insidious, whom had beaten Xanthium, they all knew now that that fight could have been staged. Therefore it was safe to assume that Xanthium was going to put up a much bigger fight than Kafeel had.
Also, Z was currently sleeping across from Ops and Tali on the floor. They did try to drag him out, but he quickly proved to be too heavy for all five of them, and they didn't want to call for help, therefore risking the needed secrecy of this mission, so they had to take him with them. 'That'll be fun'. Thought Ops. Though he and Z were friends again, Z was still reckless and crazy and unpredictable in a fight, which worried him a bit. After all, what if Z made a rash decision that caused risk to all of their lives? Needless to say, Ops would be keeping Z on a tight leash.
Meanwhile, Tali stared out the windshield of the ship blankly as her thoughts were focused more on Paradox. No one had seen or heard anything of the Toabot leader since he stormed out after the betrayal of his brother. "I hope we find him in time."
Ops nodded in agreement with his fiances statement. "Yeah, me too".
Not to say he didn't have a little faith that Paradox could find and possibly beat Xanthium, but a part of him doubted that Paradox was in the right state of mind. Normally in situations such as this, Paradox would've gone in with as much help as he could muster. Even when Green had been captured, he had gone in with some assistance. Now Paradox was trying to go in alone against the very Bioformer who had trained him? In his defense, Ops probably would've done the same thing a few days ago when he was afraid of Z getting a hold of his friends, but now that Z had proven himself an ally, that fear was gone and he could finally have a good life with Tali. Xanthium was pretty powerful too, but even he couldn't be able to take on seven or eight Toabots all at once. If he could, that would've made Paradox's mission all the more pointless.
Suddenly Billy spoke to his wife, whom sat next to him, Slash sitting beside her as well, and asked them: "Have either of you guys ever seen him get this angry before"?
If they had, Billy wanted to know exactly what he was getting himself into before trying to talk Paradox out of going after Xanthium. The second Billy had noticed Paradox was missing, it wasn't too hard to put two and two together, and thus had gotten enough friends to go with him in case he needed support. Both physically and verbally. Not that he thought Paradox would ever attack a Bionicle, but then again, the normal Paradox wouldn't have done this either so at the moment Billy considered him to be unpredictable.
Outilisa and Slash both shook their heads, much to Billy's dismay.
"Not THIS angry". Outilisa told her husband.
Billy gazed back towards the clear blue sky out the windshield, trying his hardest not to seem to be, or to even BE bothered by their answer. But the fact that not even Paradox's children had seen him like this, put them at a great disadvantage. Said answer had just made Paradox seem more unpredictable than before, and Billy never liked getting himself into situations he didn't understand, despite the fact that he and the other Toa Voya had survived that attack from Scorpio in the forest a while back. It had still been a mission that they had almost died from, and probably would've if Armor hadn't come to their rescue just in time. For now, Billy would have to try and focus on a single thought if or when they found the Vo-Toabot Leader: 'Be ready for anything'.
Tali listened quietly from her seat, clearly worried for the Toabot leader, both for whatever state of mind he may be in, and whether or not they were too late and would never be able find Paradox. 'What if Xanthium has him right now, and we just passed by them unknowingly'? Tali thought. She suppressed a tear at that thought.
Noticing the silence from his fiance, Ops leaned close to Tali, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her as close as he could in the form of a side hug. "Hey, I believe we'll find him. Don't worry".
Ops wasn't kidding or just trying to make Tali feel comfortable when he said that. Okay, well he WAS trying to make her feel comfortable, but that didn't mean he didn't believe. Just a couple days ago, they had found the Requiem Blaster, a relic that had been hidden for many years to protect from the Insidious. Then again, if it weren't for SkyFighters help, they may not have found it at all. Regardless, Ops and the others had fought against seemingly impossible odds before. Heck, they were doing that now just now by being in this war. Surely, finding Paradox wouldn't be too hard. Plus, they had programmed the ship to follow traces of Paradox's ship mode, so it would be sort of impossible not to find him at this point.
Suddenly, just as Ops had said this to his fiance, Paradox's plane mode came into view.
"There he is!" Tali exclaimed, pointing said plane.
Billy spotted him as well, and wasted no time in getting up, running to the front panel, and switching the controls to autopilot so as not to accidentally hit the Toabot. With his hard min, he could probably take it. They however, probably not so much. Regardless, Billy wasn't quite willing to find out.
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As Paradox continued to soar across the sky in his plane form, couldn't stop thinking of the people who had been harmed by Xanthium's actions last night, both physically and emotionally. In a way, it had made him feel guilty. After all of this fighting, Paradox thought it would've been okay to just relax and take a minute to fly around. But he had been wrong. All he had done was let his guard down for a single moment and now people were dead, injured, or hurting from the unbearable pain of losing a loved one. Paradox let out a sad sigh. At this point, he wouldn't blame anyone for hating him for leaving so hastily rather than comfort any of them. But despite his optimistic attitude, he had still been through so much. Two brothers had already betrayed him before this, not including Kafeel or the Liege, and now this?
Then another thought reoccurred to him: 'What is my brother planning'? He knew that his traitor brothers' plan would surely involve the relic he had stolen, but since no one knew WHICH relic had been stolen, said plan was still shrouded in mystery. Whatever it was, Paradox knew it would be catastrophic, as most Makutacon plans were. Because of this, Paradox had to take Xanthium down permanently. Paradox still loved Xanthium, and therefore didn't really want to kill him, but upon seeing him, Xanthium would more than likely not give him a choice, and even though Paradox had killed the Insidious a short time ago, he was still grieving over him, and the fact that he had not been able to change, and become something better. With that guilt still with him, Paradox sincerely hoped that Xanthium wouldn't force his servos.
Paradox decreased the thrust in his boosters as he began to hear a whirring sound approaching quickly. As Paradox did not possess a head behind himself, he braced himself, ready to turn around quickly and fight back in case the intent of whatever was approaching was to attack. But just as Paradox was about to turn, he heard a familiar voice speak from a speaker outside the ship.
"Paradox, what are you doing"?! Billy's voice shouted.
Paradox transformed into Toa Mode immediately, then turning to the ship a few feet behind him, the thrusters in his wings still active so as to allow him to hover in the air. Though Paradox was surprised that his friends had followed after him, he was also worried. After all, if they had been able to find him, maybe the Makutacon's would've been able to as well. With that in mind, and also considering the fact that enough Toa and Autobots had already been harmed by the Makutacons, he was more concerned for them, than he was happy that some still considered him a friend after his outburst from earlier.
Paradox gazed quickly towards the Lead-Toa of Fire, still inside the ship, as he responded: "I am ending this. Once and for all".
He saw Ops run up to the mic next, whom then asked: "Alone"?
Paradox nodded. "Yes Ops, I have to".
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Tali frowned. That didn't sound right at all. She had read more than one story in the history books where someone would say they would end the battle alone and it never turned out well for them. She had a bad feeling that if they let him continue, Xanthium would not let Paradox return in one piece.
Popping up next to the Toa Rahayu of water, seemingly out of nowhere, Z spoke: "So THIS is what you guys were doing"?
Z had figured at first from their pause in motion in the sky, that they were stopping somewhere to do battle. Z wasn't disappointed though. Though he loved killing villains every chance he got, he cared about friends too. Besides, that time he had killed Ops's friends hadn't entirely been his fault. Shockwave had experimented on him and Alphatron had taken control of him, commanding him to attack Ops's team. He immediately began stroking his chin upon remembering that name, beginning to wonder just where big, purple, and nerdy was.
It took everything for Tali to not jump out of her armor. "Z, wha...?" She let out a sigh. "Do you really think every time we go out in a shuttle, we're heading for a battle?"
Z smirked as he responded: "Well knowing YOU guys, what else would it be"?
"How about making sure Paradox doesn't do something stupid?" Tali didn't mean to snap at Z but her patience was very thin right now.
Mildly surprised at the Ga-Toa's response, Z zoomed next to Ops and quietly asked him: "Does she try to keep YOU in sight too"?
Ops simply nodded in response.
Z shrugged in agreement before looking back at the windshield to see what was happening now. Z had asked Ops this question specifically, not just because he was currently Tali's fiance, but also due to the fact that he was a prime. Tali was clearly irritated because this Bioformer Prime could be risking his life, and as history had proven, Primes were probably the best at being the epicly heroic, self sacrificing heroes. Therefore it wasn't impossible that Ops would probably end up the same way, and thus wouldn't blame Tali if she was a little overprotective.
In seconds, Outilisa had run up to the windshield, snatched the mic from Billy, and gave her husband an apologetic look before looking back towards her dad, whom continued to stare back from the other side.
"No dad! you don't"! Outilisa shouted, both in worry and anger.
Sure, she knew why Paradox was doing this. After what Xanthium had done, it was quite clear to everyone that the Makutacons needed to be brought to justice yesterday. But what if he actually died on this solo mission, which as far as Outilisa was concerned, very likely to happen if they let him continue alone. 'Is he TRYING to leave us'?! Outilisa wondered as tears streamed down her Avsa. 'Is he even thinking about how devastated mom would be if he was killed'?! As much as she appreciated her dad's newfound determination to win the war, there was no way she was okay with this.
Slash approached next, leaning towards the mic, his cheek almost touching his sisters as he spoke next: "Listen to us dad, whether or not you want it, you need our help"!
Z blinked rapidly as Outilisa said the word dad, looking quickly from her to Paradox a few times before zooming back next to Tali and speaking: "Wait just a minute... isn't she a Toa? How is she his daughter"?
Tali opened her mouth to answer...then closed it as she realized that she didn't have the answer. "Um, you know, I never asked."
"She used to be a Bioformer, then she fell for Billy and had her XTA safely changed for him". Ops quickly explained.
Z frowned at the end of Ops's response. "This is why I didn't get a girlfriend for a while".
'Changing your appearance just to be acceptable'? Z scoffed. If he wasn't willing to change himself just so others would find him attractive, why should any woman? 'Why can't they just be happy with their natural looks, rather than willingly change their looks with make up, plastic surgery, and now DNA changes'? Z thought. Not that he wanted anyone to find him attractive. He was okay with attention, just not THAT kind of attention.
Upon immediately noticing how Z said "didn't get a girlfriend for a while, Ops asked Z: "What"? A surprised look on his faceplates.
Z pretended to be confused and looked back at Ops with a raised opticbrow. "What"?
Both of their attentions were gained by the sound of Outilisa's voice as she spoke through the speaker once more: "Dad, listen, I know what Xanthium did, and I know it's hurting you, but if you're going to stop him, you can't, and I mean you CAN'T, do it alone". Tears began to form in her eyes as she continued: "We know the risks, but we're not afraid to face them". As tears began to stream down her mask, she cast an angry glare towards her dad, whom continued to listen. "Plus, you don't have the right to do that to us. You don't have the right to do that to MOM"!
'Seriously, I know he's accomplished quite a few feats in the past while, but he KNOWS he can't win a fight with Xanthium'! Outilisa thought ragefully. 'How could he be so willing to sacrifice his life, when he knows darn well that he has a family still dependent on him to provide for them, and a family still desperately needing his leadership?! Seriously, if anyone else was leader, the Toabots would lose in a liarkbeat'! Outilisa knew that last thought to be true. While some Toabots still fought mainly to rid the universe of the Makutacons, Paradox fought because Jesus had already forgiven all life for the mistakes they have and would make. Paradox wasn't just fighting to end some war. Any general, given the time, could do this. Paradox fought so that everyone could live a life of peace through Jesus Christ, whom had already given up his own life so that everyone could be forgiven. Out of all of the Toabots who still remained, Paradox still remained the most pure of liark, and therefore was the only wise choice of a leader.
If anyone else had been chosen to lead the Toabots, who was to say that this new leader would follow the same path as the Liege, and work to conquer and destroy the world through force and tyranny, rather than protect it through forgiveness and compassion? Then the Bioformers would be exiled again, and all of Paradox's efforts to end the war, and create a new era of peace between the four races, would've all been for nothing. That, and Outilisa would be without a dad. After losing as many friends as she had in this war, she wasn't willing to lose anymore.
Paradox's mask saddened as he saw the angry and hurt look on his daughters Avsa, understanding her pain and worry. Paradox had felt much pain when his parents died, his dad under Xanthium's command a hundred years ago, and his mother in an assassination back on Planet X. It was a pain that Paradox would never wish on Outilisa, or anyone. But as much pain as that moment had brought him, he figured it would be better for himself to die in one last fight, rather than allow anyone else to feel this pain again. There was enough of that back at base as it was. If Paradox didn't act now, things would surely get worse. What if he lost his family, or all of his soldiers in one more fatal move, as Xanthium knew the location of their base?
Paradox kept his sad look as he gazed into Outilisa's eyes and responded: "I am doing this to keep each of you safe". Then gazing sadly to his right: "I do not want any more of you dying against him".
Slash snatched the mic from his sister quickly, then shouting into the mic: "That does NOT mean YOU have to"!
Before the war had made it's way to earth, Slash and the other Toabots had been in space, desperately searching for their friends and family. Just as their planet was being destroyed, Slash and his little brother, whom he had named Orange, had been separated from their parents for thirty years. Slash had been so happy when he and the others had received the message from earth from Paradox. Upon landing, the first thing he and Orange had done was run into their parents arms and cried with them, as a family finally reunited. Said reunion had happened three months ago. In that time, they had spent so much time together and had grown into a family again, just as he had wanted dearly for thirty years. Slash had already lost his family once and there was no way he was going to lose it again.
Z, whom was now standing next to Tali and Ops, simply smirked, intensely enjoying the drama.
"Now this is pretty good"! Z almost shouted. "Some good drama, foreshadowed action..." His optics widened in excitement.. "I need popcorn"!
THWAK!
Tali glared at Z disapprovingly, trying to keep a smug smile off her face as she glanced at the dent she had placed on the back of his helm.
Z yelped a bit, rubbing the dent. Though the dent would eventually un-dent and heal, it still hurt a little. Z narrowed his optics at the Toa Rahayu of water a bit as he responded: "What? I barely EVER get this kind of entertainment".
Ops frowned in Z's direction. "This isn't funny, Z".
Sometimes, and by sometimes he meant almost never, he really had no idea what was going on in Z's head. Though even he would admit that some of the things Z said were hilarious, that didn't mean Ops agreed with Z cracking a joke every single moment he got. Especially not in moments like this were jokes were really uncalled for.
Z nodded and responded: "I know". Before surprising Ops with a bag of popcorn already prepared. "I actually brought some".
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From outside the ship, Paradox gave them a worried expression as he asked them: "Why do any of you wish to risk your lives for me"?
'Do they not understand that I am doing this so that no one else will get hurt'? Paradox wondered. When Paradox had reluctantly allowed his own family to help fight this war, his worries had been bad enough. After he had seen the casualties, and the people crying over the corpses of the people they loved, Paradox's fears had grown stronger. As much as he wanted to respect his family's wishes, he didn't want to lose anymore family members than he already had. Not just family that had been part of the Makutacon army, but also brothers and sisters who had fought and died beside him. Some nights, Paradox found him unable to sleep because of the stress born from the memories of losing his siblings in such a manner. If he had lost his wife or children in such a manner, Paradox feared he would not be able to take it.
Paradox looked to his son Slash, whom interrupted his thoughts with words that even he knew were true: " Because that's what a family is willing to do for each other".
Paradox looked to his left after hearing those words from his son, gazing at the numerous clouds gathered around them in infinite random shapes. Though Paradox had gone out alone in a desperate effort to protect his family from further harm, he had forgotten that his family had loved him the same way. Athena, Slash, even Outilisa had been under his command, fighting by his side not just for the Toabot cause, but also to ensure that Paradox would not be killed. Even now, he could recall numerous encounters on the battlefield where his family had saved him from nearly dying. If it hadn't been for them perhaps he would not even be here to this very day. Now, with Slash's answer lingering in his thought processor, he knew that no matter how hard he tried to keep them from harms way, they would always be beside him. 'At least we can protect each other as a family'. Paradox thought.
Paradox let out a sigh of defeat then, before looking back to the windshield where everyone continued to silently observe him as he responded: "Alright. You all can help me".
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Tali sighed in relief. 'That goodness, he sees reason.'
"But-" Paradox said, leading to a disappointed sigh from Z.
'Why does this guy have to lay out ANY rules'? Z wondered, having an intense love for going as crazy as possible in the battlefield, similar to the manner he had in the battle in the Mayan Ruins. 'If he makes any rules against killing as many Makutacons as possible, I'm going to throw a fit'. He though as Paradox continued his sentence.
"-you must do as I say, and without question, understand"?
Billy nodded. "As your son in law, I PROMISE to do so".
Slash and Outilisa also nodded. 'Not like we have much of a choice anyway, being his children'. Slash thought. But if Paradox's life was endangered, and they were able to do something about it, NO WAY were they going to stand back. Paradox was their dad, and the leader of the Toabots. If he was lost, so was the war.
"Sure thing Paradox". Ops responded next.
As an Autobot, and the son of Optimus Prime himself, Ops had always been taught how to do the right thing, and follow orders to the letter. Though the following orders part was also taught heavily from his step brother Prowl, but that was beside the point. As long as Paradox was willing to have assistance, Ops would help out however he could. Plus, no one knew what Xanthium had in store for the Toabot leader. Just to be safe, Ops was happy Paradox was willing to take whatever help he could get.
"Yes, sir." Tali said with a sharp nod.
Paradox turned his head next in Z's direction, giving him a stern look as he knew how unpredictable Z could be, on the battlefield at least. Though he believed Z's apology to be sincere, he had no idea if loyalty or anything similar to the word, was in the ex-con's vocabulary. Paradox did believe that Z had good intentions now, but he still wanted to be sure that Z wouldn't be a liability to the mission.
Z responded to this look with a smirk. "I can't promise I won't misbehave, but as far as taking orders goes, lead the way".
Paradox nodded, accepting Z's answer as he responded: "Then let us go stop Xanthium". before transforming quickly back into plane mode and flying away, though slowly enough so that the ship would be able to follow him.
As Billy took control of the consoles at the front of the ship, Z zoomed over to Tali, remembering something he had read over as he had hacked into their records before meeting them.
"Is it true that Alyan's father actually blinded him"? Z asked the Lead-Toa Rahayu of water.
Tali nodded sadly. "Yes. No one knows why, not even Alyan. But, one day, Alyan came home from school and his father attacked him. The two struggled for a while and ended up in the kitchen. His father grabbed a knife but Alyan managed to dodge the blows. Then, in a fit of rage, his father pinned him to the ground, grabbed a bottle of chlorine and hurled the contents all over his face. Alyan managed to get free and flee his home. A friend found him and took him to the hospital but the damage was done and it was permanent."
Z frowned at that. "Hm. And here I was beginning to think MY parents were bad".
His mother was lazy and never wanted to do anything other than watch her favorite TV shows on the television in her living room back on Cybertron. 'Seriously, NO ONE ELSE was allowed to watch ANYTHING else on that TV'. Z remembered. Any attempts to watch anything else was punishable by being a footrest for ten minutes, which wouldn't have been so bad for Z, if her feet didn't smell like animal corpses.
His dad was worse however. His dad wasn't abusive or anything like that, but he was one of those dads who didn't care what his child was doing, as long as he was out of the way of whatever activity he was doing. 'Or at least not as long as mom wasn't around'. Z thought. If she was around, and Z did the least wrong thing, his dad threw whatever was in his hands at him. Newspapers, pencils, couches, rocking chairs, TV's, PVC Pipes, cardboard boxes, paper airplanes, it didn't matter. If you misbehaved with the missus around, he would literally throw anything.
Z's thoughts back to his "horrific" family were interrupted as another thought popped into his thought processor.
"What happened to Alyan's dad"?
"He disappeared soon after". Tali responded. "No one has seen or heard from him ever since. But the police still have a warrant for his arrest. Last I heard, they were still looking."
Z looked down for a moment, sincerely sorry for the Toa Rahayu of Stone as he asked: "Is Alyan still blind"? 'He fights as if otherwise'. Z thought. 'Then again, maybe that's what what his visor is for'. He facepalmed. 'Of course that's what it's for you idiot'. Z thought. 'Not everyone wears a visor just to look cool'. Then another thought occurred to him. "Better yet, do you think it would be fine with him if I..." He took a moment to look dramatically at the Toa Rahayu of water before continuing: "avenged his eyesight"?
"Yes, Alyan is still blind." Tali paused a bit as she thought over Z's request, weighing near choice before answering. " He won't mind. Alyan only wants one thing and that is to know why he took his eyes in the first place. Once he gets that closure, he could care less about who makes the first strike."
Z simply shrugged. "Hm, fair enough". Z said simply, before mentally searching across the web for Alyan's earpiece, in an effort to hack into it for a moment.
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Alyan sat on his bed in his empty room, sharpening his sword while giving no thought to the beige walls or the black carpet. Nor did he take any mind to the bright sunlight that shone through the window on his right. Despite the fact that he had his visor on, he did not want to focus on the sunlight, or anything other than his sword and the rage he felt towards Xanthium for betraying them. Not to mention offing a few Toa and Autobots before leaving. People who had families. People who didn't deserve to die that night the way they had.
Alyan's train of thought was interrupted when he felt his earpiece begin to vibrate in his left ear. Alyan had a curious look on his face as he pressed a finger against the device, wondering who would be calling him right now, as almost everyone he knew was there in the base with him.
"Hello"? Alyan asked.
"Do you know of any places your father might be"? A familiar voice almost immediately responded. "Any places the police haven't checked. This is Z by the way".
"Z?" Alyan blinked in surprise. 'How did he get my...nevermind.' He shook his head and asked the more important question. "How did you know about my father?" There was no denying the slight bite on that last word.
"We found Paradox, family drama led to me remembering that I hacked into everyone's records a while back, etc etc. Do you want me to find him, because BELIEVE me. I can".
Alyan tightened his fist." Yes, Z. I do want you to find him and as for your question, I do know of ONE place that the police never checked. When my father disappeared, it was discovered that some important papers were missing as well. I know what those papers were. They were the last will of my grandfather on my mother's side. They spoke about the family mansion in Greece that he had left for us. That must be were he is."
There was a small pause, as if Z was taking notes on everything the Toa Rahayu had said, before responding: "Thank you". A few seconds passed before the ex-con added in the polite tone a telemarketer would use: "Also, Tali told me that you wanted a question answered. Do you want me to get said answer before I kill him"?
Alyan: Yes. That question has tormented me since that day and I have not had any peace. I want to know.
Note: Alyan's voice is tight with barely restrained rage.
"Very well. I'll make him answer on camera if that'll make anything better".
"Yes. That question has tormented me since that day and I have not had any peace. I want to know." Alyan managed to not growl the words but his voice was tight with rage.
"Very well then". Z's voice responded. "I'll have it soon". Z had then finished before hanging up.
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Upon hanging up, Z set down a giant notepad, almost as big as himself, down on the floor to his left. His explanation for such a large notepad? Two reasons. First reason was because comedy relief. Second reason was because he had expected Alyan to ramble on and on sadly about important or unimportant details as most people in his situation would've. Unfortunately for the now waste of a large piece of paper, Alyan was not most people.
Ops however had not taken any humor from this and stood up, ragefully glaring down at the ex-con as he shouted: "Do you have any idea what you've just done"?!
"Let it go, Ops!" Tali defended Z. "This is Alyan's choice. He has been after this for years. The others and I have tried time and time again to talk him out of it but he never listened. We could only do so much. He wants this, Ops. He is set on it. Let him have it."
At this point, Tali was more exhausted of having to go through this conversation than anything as Alyan had flat out told the team that nothing was going to stop him getting revenge on his dad. They had argued about it so much to the point that Tali had thrown up her hands and gave in just to save the peace of the team.
Ops glanced back at his fiance as he responded: "I am more than OK with Alyan having the answer he wants. Anyone in his position would want answers". Then glaring back down at the Ex-Con who sat calmly against the wall: "But Z promised to kill him".
Z shrugged. "Of course I did Ops, we both know the fragger deserves it".
"Were you aware that THAT was the reason behind Alyan becoming a swordsman?" Tali's calm tone gave nothing away to how she felt about it all. After all, it was clear during their school years that Alyan had been training himself for the day he would confront and kill his father for asking away his sight. It was the only thing that drove him to strive for perfection.
"No I wasn't, but this isn't right". Ops responded, before then turning back towards the Lead-Toa Rahayu of water. "Yeah I know what his father did to him, but look at what he did to Jesus".
Z's confident look changed quickly into that of a child whom had just been beaten in an argument, then looking away. Z wasn't one who hated to admit when he was wrong. He had actually embraced that a bit after what the Decepticons had made him do to his friends team. But although Z knew Ops was right there, he didn't want to acknowledge it. He didn't doubt that God really existed. There was way too much proof every time he looked outside for it to be coincidence. But as he was currently trying to figure out how God looked upon him, he always remained silent whenever his name was said.
"What do you mean, 'what he did to Jesus'?" Tali blinked as her mind went blank, clearly taken aback by the curve-ball.
Ops's expression changed quickly from anger to sadness. "Jesus suffered so much many years ago. Three days in hell for everything we ever did. For everything HE did". Referring to Alyan's dad when he said HE. "Jesus suffered for everyone, that includes Alyan's dad, because he loved us enough to have that kind of mercy".
With that being said, a tear fell quickly from Ops's right optic. No matter what some bad person had done to anyone, Ops never believed in the idea of vengeance, as God was the only true giver of justice. God had created the universe and every living person and thing in it, so who had a better right to judge than him? Yet, regardless of all the bad things everyone had done, and still did to the present day, God had sent his son Jesus Christ to redeem the sins of all, in the worst punishments manageable. All so all life could live eternally in God's grace.
It was because of this mercy, that Ops was not willing to allow vengeance to be enacted for any reason. If their destiny truly was to die, God would make it so, and no one else. As a humble servant, Ops would simply forgive every person he came across of their sins, and not hold said sins against them in acts of revenge.
Tali turned her face away and stared holes into the floor. She really wished she had a good response to that but how could she argue that one fact? She had been taught her whole life the Scripture that said vengeance is the Lord's. She bit back a giggle as she heard the voice of an old pastor from long ago telling a personal story about that. The memory also put things in perspective for her. Yes, Alyan's father had done some terrible things that even Tali, deep down, wanted to go after him for, but she had to leave it to the Lord or else she would get in worse trouble. Plus, there was always the chance that he probably had met the Lord by now and was saved...as far fetched as that sounded. Hey, anything was possible. But the memory of Alyan's blind and scarred eyes still boiled her blood a bit.
"You're saying that Alyan should forgive his father?" The sentence was phrased more like a question than a statement.
Ops nodded. "Yes. I am. Jesus forgave him, so will I".
With a sigh, Tali closed her eyes. As much as she knew he was right...it was easier said than done. "I know that, Ops." And she knew that deep inside, Alyan did too. And for him to push forward with his demand for the blood of his father just proved how deeply his anger and hate was rooted. She looked up at her fiancé. "But I don't know if..." A sob choked her voice into temporary silence. Moving a hand up to touch her throat, she was startled when a drop of moisture hit it half way. When had she started crying? There had been no signs of that amount of sorrow, so where were these tears coming from? "Alyan's heartlight is so full of hate for his father." She heard her voice say. "I don't know if...he can bring himself to forgive."
"Refusing to forgive is what started this war". Billy suddenly spoke up, then turning to the others. "That's why the Makutacons have no mercy for any of us. If Z does choose to kill Alyan's dad, we're no better than them".
Tali strongly wished she had a better argument against that, but they would only be talking in circles. And the thought of one of her closest friends being compared to the enemy hurt her more than anything. "I failed him." She sobbed. "I tried so hard to show him God's love. I had hoped he would understand but...I've failed."
Upon noticing his fiance's tears, Ops quickly wrapped Tali in a hug. "I think he'll find his way soon, don't worry". Ops reassured her. "Sometimes, people have to find their way alone".
Tali leaned into his hug. "I guess you're right." She murmured locking back her fears and concerns. 'I hope you're right. Alyan has been through a lot and I have left him alone to find his way back but...I still can't shake off this feeling that...I might have made a mistake in doing so.'
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Biomarvel740: Hasbro owns Shockwave. That thing about needing popcorn is from someone from my Middle and High School. Optimus Prime and Prowl are both owned by Hasbro.
Galem: (chuckles as I wave off another one of my OCs) I thought the popcorn part was funny.
Biomarvel740: (Surprised look) You really thought so?
Galem: yep.
Biomarvel740: (smiles) Thanks.
Galem: (smiles back) welcome.
Biomarvel740: (looks to the readers) But what did you all think of the joke? Better yet, what did you all think of the chapter?
Galem: leave us a review to let us know or pm either of us if you have any questions.
Biomarvel740: We thank you all for reading-
Galem: and please...
Biomarvel740 and Galem: Have a God-blessed day! XD :D
