(A/N): Soooo…did you all have a nice Christmas/holiday season? Did you all like the last chapter, with its (mostly) fluffy, feel-good vibes and its low stakes? Yes? Good.
Because here's where the other shoe starts its long, long, long drop.
Fair warning that if there was gonna be a chapter in this story that made you all hate me and/or drop the fic completely, it'd probably be this one. There's no character deaths, but…well, death isn't always the worst thing that can happen to a beloved character, and one of those worse things happens at the end here. I promise I have a plan for the story beyond what happens, but the journey there might be a little…painful, emotionally speaking. (I'm actually glad I ended up taking a break after Chapter 18, instead of my original plan of going on hiatus here - I can't imagine leaving you all hanging for months after the ending I'm about to inflict on y'all.)
Aside from a quick glimpse at how our favorite doctor is doing, this is a Penny-centric chapter that marks a turning point for her role in the story. In fact, it was originally going to be one of those "one POV, one full scene" chapters like we occasionally saw in Destiny's Divide, but I couldn't find a more fitting place for Pietro's scene than at the start here. This chapter marks the end of Act One, and sets the stage tonally for what we can expect in Act Two. Enjoy if possible, and please don't lynch me!
Content warnings: body horror, loss of control, and parental anxiety.
Pietro carefully navigated his robochair down a sandy path through the forest, one that was slowly becoming familiar in his old mind. The heat of Ta-Wahi faded with each mechanical step, replaced by a pleasant tropical coolness thanks to ocean winds blowing through the trees. Making the journey down here had become something of a ritual for the doctor in the last two weeks, something he did every morning that made it easier to focus on work yet harder to concentrate at the same time. But it'd be even more difficult to help the island if he didn't do this. The doubt and uncertainty would claw away at him, even more than it already did.
Kalama marched by his side with a spear in her hands and alertness in her gaze, watching the forest for threats and dangers. The sight of her by his side brought some warmth to his heart; ever since he'd fixed her up during the Bohrok attack on Ta-Koro, the little black-masked Matoran had stuck to him like glue, even seeking permission from Vakama to assign herself as the doctor's own personal bodyguard. While he was more than smart enough to get himself out of trouble - and wise enough to keep away from trouble in the first place - Pietro was glad for the company all the same. Her dedication and kindness was a salve that he sorely needed these days.
Eventually he found himself at the end of the road yet again, coming to a domed hut made from branches and leaves and twine. This little clearing in the forest was still here, much to his relief, as were all the usual furnishings - a swinging hammock strung between two trees, a sapling already bearing metallic fruits, a firepit blackened with soot and charcoal, an empty washbasin carved from white marble, and even a little wooden table covered in half-assembled parts and gizmos. All untouched for days, all left exactly as they were before, with no sign anyone but him had been here. But what caught his attention first, as it always did, was a collection of figures carved into a nearby tree. A girl in a dress with ribbons in her long hair, holding hands with a little Matoran and an old man in a robochair exactly like his own, above an inscription written in two different alphabets. One looked like circles with lines inside their arcs. The other, he could read.
My family.
As he did almost every day, Pietro ran a wrinkled thumb over the wooden carving. "Oh, Penny…" he whispered, trying and failing to hold back a bitter cough. "Where are you, girl? I know you've got the power of a sleeping god on your side now, so I shouldn't be worried…but that just makes me worry more about you. Please, just come home…we all miss you so much. I miss you so much."
His brave little escort kept her distance as he pleaded and prayed, just like she usually did, and silently allowed the old man to send his morning message into the void. But this time they were both interrupted by the sound of snapping branches and falling trees, which set both of them on edge and made man and Matoran alike take up alert stances. Pietro's hand hovered over the controls of his robochair, hoping against hope he wouldn't have to fight in his daughter's home…but thankfully, it wasn't a swarm of mechanical insects that emerged from the undergrowth and into the clearing.
Instead, it was a forty-foot-long mechanical tiger with three smaller robot cats by its side. Pietro wasn't sure if that was an improvement.
Kalama, at least, let out a sigh of relief. "We've heard reports that Rahi were migrating en masse across the island to flee the destruction, forced to settle in unfamiliar areas by the Bohrok swarms. This Muaka must have come here for food…and, if I'm not mistaken on this one's identity, to try finding her friend. Maybe your scent reminded her of Penny's?"
"That sounds quite plausible to me." Pietro chuckled as the giant Rahi lumbered over, carefully stepping around the hut and its furnishings. "So you must be Mumu, then…" he pondered as he extended a palm for sniffs and pets, which the massive tiger accepted with a chuff and something resembling a purr. "Heh. Big as a Megoliath, yet gentler than a house cat. Of all the friends I'd heard Penny talk about, you're certainly one of the largest. And the strangest."
"Destiny has a way of bringing unlikely allies together, Doctor Polendina."
Everyone in the clearing (even Mumu and her cubs) turned and watched a new figure hobble into the clearing. Kalama instantly straightened up and snapped a salute.
"Oh, Turaga Vakama!" said the flustered Guard. "If I'd known you wanted to make the trip here too, I'd have arranged for additional protection. Why, I would have even escorted you here myself -"
"Be at ease, Lieutenant," intoned Vakama with a soft chuckle and a wave of his hand. "I understand that this place is sacred to our guest, so I did not wish to impose with my presence any more than necessary." Then he looked at Pietro with a pensive expression. "Are you well, Doctor Polendina? You come here often, I have noticed, and I have seen you in the Charred Forest more than I have in the village walls of late. Do you have issues with your current dwellings?"
Pietro reached for a soaked hand rag and dabbed it on his forehead. "Ah…yeah, sorry. Ta-Koro's lovely, don't get me wrong, and you've been nothing but good to me, but I think the heat's starting to wear me down. We humans are a hardy bunch, but being near open lava's a lot for even us to handle. Yang said that the only reason she and the girls could stay with you all for long periods was because their Auras helped keep them cool, and, well…my Aura's not as strong as it used to be…"
He pulsed what little soul energy he still had, gaps and all. Mumu tilted her head in curiosity, then licked the beads of sweat from his brow with a long sinewy tongue. Vakama frowned beneath his mask at the sight, then sighed.
"…ah, yes. That does bode ill." The old Turaga shook his head. "Forgive me. I was so concerned about the Bohrok and what the future may hold, I had forgotten that human biology and needs differ so greatly from our own."
The good doctor waved his hand - and consigned himself to the Muaka's decision to groom him on the spot. "You've got a lot to worry about right now, I don't blame you for letting that slip your mind. All the same, though, I think I might do a lot better if I set up shop somewhere cooler. Not cold, per se - I've had enough of that in my lifetime already. Maybe somewhere sunny and temperate, like the climate down here?" He coughed out a laugh, then grabbed his cap to keep it from being knocked off his forehead. "Excuse me, that's not my hair. That's my hat."
KRRRR…
"Alright, fine, keep licking it." Pietro chortled again. "Far be it from me to tell a giant robot cat what she can and can't do."
A low rumble from Mumu's throat told him he'd made the right choice. The trio of cubs, having grown bored of sniffing anything and everything in the grove, sauntered over by his feet and curled up around him. Whether they were guided by his smell being similar to their friend, or they sensed his sorrow, he was glad for the warmth all the same.
"Last I heard, Ga-Koro's still safe from the Bohrok," reported Kalama with a thoughtful hum. "It'd be cooler and less exposed than the woods around Hero's Landing, while still being connected to our few remaining ports. Turaga, can you send a message to Nokama requesting a boat? I can gather a company to escort Doctor Polendina should he choose to settle there, and to scout out the region once we've arrived. The village might be crowded these days, what with the Po-Matoran seeking asylum there, but I'm sure there's room for a few more people to squeeze in."
"An excellent suggestion," noted Vakama with a nod. "I shall arrange for transport as soon as I return to Ta-Koro. Nokama and Onewa alike will certainly appreciate your gifts, Doctor, and I know they will accommodate you to the best of their abilities. The village itself may not be the most accessible to you and your…equipment…but I am certain the shores of Lake Naho will treat you kindly. Kinder than our own Lake of Fire has, at the very least."
"After spending months in the desert, a beach sounds lovely." Pietro gave another cough as he gently pushed Mumu's snout away, and this time she heeded his wishes and trundled off. "You might need to get a really big boat for her, though. Doubt she or her cubs are gonna let me be, now that they've got my scent."
"Do not worry about that." The Turaga smiled wryly. "Muaka are excellent swimmers."
Mumu purred in pride. Her cubs chirped happily. With a satisfied hum of his own, Pietro turned his chair back to face the wooden likeness of himself and his daughter, running his hand along the carved bark once more.
"It's going to be hard, though, not coming here every morning…" he mused idly, a wistful tear forming in his eye.
Vakama's hand rested on his shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze. "We will make certain this place is protected, preserved, and ready for Penny when she returns. And make no mistake, Doctor Polendina…she will return. I do not need the Sacred Fire's insight to know this, to know that the Great Spirit walks with her wherever she goes. Your daughter is an extraordinary soul, one blessed by Mata Nui himself - whatever trials she faces, she will not face them alone."
He allowed himself a small sob as he pulled his glasses off and wiped his eyes yet again. "Thank you…and I know you're right," he said hoarsely. "I trust her, and I've got all the faith in the world in her. And I don't doubt the power of your gods, I just…never believed much in the higher powers back on Remnant."
The old Turaga patted his shoulder and nodded in understanding. "Then I shall simply have to have faith for the both of us. Penny Polendina will come back to you. To us."
With such conviction in Vakama's voice, Pietro couldn't help but start believing it himself.
The city of Metru Nui zipped past her beyond a silvery-blue blur. Penny kept her breath in her lungs and her gaze on Iruini ahead of her, leaning and drifting to follow the green-scaled Rahaga through the maze of speeding packages. Ever since the chute network had been fixed a few days ago, progress in repairing the damaged city had skyrocketed; with fresh materials and tools being shipped between districts via high-speed tubes of magnetized protodermis, it became easier to erect fallen Knowledge Towers, restart more protodermis labs, reignite long-dormant forges, and even reactivate additional chute stations. But that was not on the Maiden's mind right now.
Right now, Iruini was showing her how fun the chutes could be.
Moving through the rushing protodermis was not unlike swimming through a mighty river, in that it was easier to glide and float along with the current than it was to push against it. Her magic over water subtly gave her more control than was otherwise possible, allowing her to ascend and dive and bank to the sides with little more than a lean of her shoulders and a thrust of her legs. Just when she felt she could hold her breath no longer, Iruini pointed his staff to a patch where the magnetic suspension field was thin enough to cross; with a breathless nod she watched him fling himself into the open sky, following him on a jet of flames that pushed her into the air.
That familiar funny feeling of weightlessness came over her as soon as the upside-down skyline was visible. A giggle escaped her throat as she righted herself and took off like a rocket, weaving between other chutes and buildings that looked much better than they had two weeks ago. Iruini trailed behind her on his built-in propellers, hovering in the Maiden's wake as she executed corkscrews and flips and other mid-air stunts that tickled her stomach.
After indulging in some aerial acrobatics, Penny spotted a tower near the edge of the Silver Sea and came down for a landing on its roof. She let herself tumble and roll across the metallic surface, coming to a halt with a flop that made her limbs and hair splay out around her. For the first time in what felt like ages, she laughed. Goodness, when had she last properly laughed? When had she last let herself have fun? In her mind, it was only two weeks ago. In her heart, it felt like a lifetime.
The old Rahaga eventually touched down next to her and hobbled over to the building edge, squatting down and tucking his legs into himself like a loafing cat. "How was that, huh? Betcha didn't have anything like that up on the island."
Penny giggled breathlessly and pulled herself into a sitting position next to Iruini, letting her bare legs dangle over the edge as she rested on her palms. "Hah…certainly not, although the Le-Matoran have found…other ways to quickly get around. Like leaf-running, or riding Gukko birds, or swinging from vines. None of them were as fast as the chutes just now, but they were all fun in their own way."
"Heh, no surprise there." Iruini chuckled wryly. "Even if they don't remember this city, there's something in every Le-Matoran's heartstone that makes them wanna go fast and have fun doing it." A lizard-like mouth twisted into a smirk. "Hey, speaking of Gukko birds, I've got a trivia question for you. Who do you think was the first among your Turaga to actually ride one?"
The question puzzled her, but she hummed and guessed anyway. "Hmm…Matau?"
"Hah! Nope, try again!"
"Onewa?" guessed Penny. His Komau, the Mask of Mind Control, would have allowed him to -
"Nope! Not him, either!"
- or perhaps not. "Surely it must be Nokama, who was able to speak to the Kikanalo -"
Iruini shook his head again with another cackle. "Not even her! Although you're right about the 'talking' thing…there, there's a free hint for you."
Penny furrowed her brow. Talking…talking to birds…language…language of birds…language of…flyers? No…it cannot be…could it?
"…was it Nuju?" asked the Maiden, barely believing her answer even as she spoke it.
The Rahaga finally clapped and cackled once again, eyes shimmering with mirth. "That's right! Nuju actually learned how to ride one from Kualus, who taught him how to speak to flying things. Guessing he must've passed that knowledge along to Matau, if the whole village is riding on birds these days."
"If Nuju did tell Matau, I doubt he would have understood without Matoro," said Penny with a glib grin. "The Turaga of Ko-Koro only speaks in the Language of the Flyers, and does not go anywhere without his translator. No one knows what he is saying otherwise."
"No kidding?" Iruini laughed and shook his head. "Kualus'll get a kick outta that. We've gotta get up to that island of yours sometime, it sounds like a riot up there!"
Penny's smile faltered somewhat, but she chuckled anyway. "Believe me, if I could create a portal for all of us, I would do so in a heartbeat." She extended her hand and searched for that seam in reality to unravel for a moment, only to find nothing but empty air yet again. "But I have not been able to do that ever since I came to Metru Nui, and no matter what we fix that power has yet to return to me. Perhaps once the city is fully repaired, I can take you all to the surface, and…"
She trailed off as the Rahaga fell uncharacteristically silent, turning around to find him staring curiously at her.
"What is it? Did I say something strange?"
"In a way," said Iruini. "How exactly did you come to Metru Nui, if you don't mind me asking? I thought all the paths out of the city were sealed by Makuta a thousand years ago, and I doubt Vakama would've left an opening on the way out. They would've come back by now if that was the case…so how'd you get down here?"
Penny's heart seemed to freeze. "Oh. I…was brought here from the island above. By a…friend with teleportation powers."
Hic.
Iruini did not look convinced. "Hmm. This teleporting friend of yours…were they absurdly tall, with a mouthful of teeth and huge claws and a face only a Makuta could love?"
She did not want to lie, but she also did not want to risk getting in trouble with the Order. So she said nothing.
"Well, if that silence means 'yes,' then…" Iruini chuckled humorlessly. "You must be even more charming than you let on, if you went and made friends with a Caryxon."
The Maiden blinked slowly. "A…Caryxon? What is that?"
"They're a race of savage giants native to some cesspit down in the Southern Islands," explained the green-scaled Rahaga. "Nasty sort, Caryxon - they make a Skakdi look downright cuddly, and they're so violent that even the Makuta fear them. They might be as smart as the average Matoran or Toa, smart enough to communicate in their own way, but they lack the…hmm…let's call them 'social graces' required for operating in polite society. And Mata Nui, in all his infinite wisdom, decided that their race should be the ones who get the innate ability to teleport just about anywhere within the Matoran Universe, anytime they want on a total whim. It's a good thing there aren't many of them, and that they're all fanatically devoted to the 'will of the Great Spirit.' Otherwise we'd have rampaging, homicidal, blink-and-they're-gone maniacs to worry about on top of everything else."
Penny furrowed her brow. Teleporting anywhere? Giant warrior? An aggressive disposition? All of that sounded remarkably like Botar, and the thought that there could be more like him was not a comforting one.
"Of course, that's not the end of it," continued Iruini. "Not only can they teleport themselves and anything they're touching, they can also lock away the ability for others to teleport by putting some kind of invisible brand on them. A little secret they try to keep as an entire species, of course, but it's nothing too fancy; just a bit of static elemental energy that disrupts the link between mind and body, locking certain powers away without completely severing the rest. They call it a Seal…or at least that's what their grunting best translates it as. Most of the time it's an automatic reflex, to make sure that whatever they're touching can't get away from them mid-jump - which can make a fine mess of both the Caryxon and its passenger. Usually the Seal only lasts a few seconds longer than the trip itself, but there's some who've learned how to more finely control that particular power…and make Seals that can persist for days, weeks, moons, years, even centuries."
A pit formed in Penny's stomach. "How…do you know all this, Iruini?"
He let out a snort of derision. "Found out the hard way, I did. Back when I was a Toa, I once had the displeasure to bump into a particularly nasty Caryxon that knew how to do just that. All I did was bounce off his leg when I wasn't paying attention, but that was clearly some big offense in their culture - and he saw fit to punish me by making me unable to use my Kualsi. That's the Mask of Teleportation, you see, pretty useful thing unless you've pissed off some big toothy freak. Damned thing didn't work right again until that Seal finally wore off on its own a few centuries later…and of course, I never saw that Kraata-face again after I realized what he'd done, so I couldn't exactly have him undo it early. Some Caryxon can do that. Most won't."
Her brow furrowed as her mind flashed back to her initial abduction, one hand feeling just below her jaw. "Did it feel like a burning sensation along your neck, when you initially made contact with…with that Caryxon?"
Iruini looked up with surprise written into his features. "Yeah, it felt exactly like that. I thought it was a lava-fly bite at first, and by the time I realized what it really was, the guy who'd marked me was long gone. Whoever he was, he was one spiteful bastard. Hopefully your 'friend' is nicer than him…though if they really are a Caryxon, I doubt that's even possible."
Penny's eyes narrowed as she rose to her bare feet, the pieces falling into place. So that was why she could not make portals anymore. So that was why she was trapped.
Botar had taken that power away.
And if Iruini had indeed met that same ornery Order member, the one that had depowered him for hundreds of years, then Ruby and her friends would not return to Remnant within their lifetimes. Within their friends' lifetimes. Her blood burned alongside the magic in her eyes. That was not acceptable. None of this was acceptable! None of it!
"I…see…" she muttered darkly. "Thank you for telling me this, Iruini, and for showing me around the chute network. But now I must go. I have to…speak to this friend of mine. Immediately."
The green-scaled Rahaga tilted his head. "With a look like that in your eyes, I don't think they'll be a friend of yours for much longer - or much of anything, really. Try not to die!"
"I will not die," affirmed the angry Maiden of Mata Nui. "There are too many reasons for me to live."
And with that, after making sure Vlépo was still tucked safely into the folds of her dress, she ignited jets of emerald flames against her bare soles and took off into the sky.
Penny usually loved flying. Just moments earlier, it had been the most exciting thing in the world. She loved feeling the wind in her hair, the weightlessness in her stomach, and the warmth in her heart at executing complex aerial maneuvers. But as she cut through the skyline of Metru Nui once again, this time with her gaze locked on the Coliseum's highest point, there was no joy within her. No excitement or enthusiasm. Only white-hot rage and burning indignation.
Her thoughts raced through her mind as she soared, reviewing the facts as calmly as she could in her agitated state. The Order had abducted her. The Order had not told her about Botar's Seal. The Order had not worked to even meet her basic needs, leaving her to fend for herself and almost starve in a sterile city. And even after she had shed so much blood, so much sweat, and so many tears for their mission, they still did not tell her everything. They still lied by omission. They still did not trust her.
Could they even trust anything except themselves?
Dark storm clouds started to trail in her wake, rumbling with growing thunder. What else had the Order kept from her? What else had they done to deceive her and keep her in the dark? Had they timed her abduction to occur immediately after the Bohrok outbreak? Did Botar knowingly throw away her Scroll during the struggle to keep her from calling for aid? Was repairing Metru Nui even improving the health of the Great Spirit? Had they even delivered the letter to her friends?! Doubt gripped her heart and cast shadows across her soul, throwing fuel onto the raging fire within her.
Angry tears spilled from her eyes, blurring her vision and making her waver slightly. How could she have been so naive? Here she believed she was being so noble, so wise, so aware of her situation. She thought she knew better. She thought she was better. Yet the Order of Mata Nui had manipulated her all the same, just as they manipulated everything else. Just as Ironwood and Atlas had manipulated her for so long after the fall of Beacon. How could she let this happen again? How could she be so stupid?
Then again…perhaps there was a reasonable explanation for all of this. Perhaps it was not as bad as it seemed. Perhaps there was some method to the madness, some reassurance that this was all according to the will of Mata Nui. It was unlikely, but Penny still dared to hope that this was the case. If not for her sake, then for everyone else's.
Perhaps Botar would even remove the Seal from her, if she asked nicely. And if he was in a good mood. And if she did not disembowel him on sight for violating her.
Whatever the case, she would be the Order's puppet no longer.
She was going to find Helryx, confront her, and demand the truth. One way or another.
Her flight path arced up along the walls of the city's tallest tower, gliding along its metal and glass like a rocket-powered elevator. For a moment she considered enlisting her few friends in Metru Nui for help in getting answers. To seek out and recruit Pyrrha, or the other Rahaga, or even Axonn for her wrathful crusade. She shot those ideas down almost immediately - all but one of her allies here did not know about the Order, and if she got them involved there was no telling what would happen to them. She did not know what Helryx or Botar did to those who got too close to the truth, and she could not bear to even imagine. The Rahaga had suffered too much at the hands of Roodaka. Pyrrha had suffered too much at the hands of Cinder, the Makuta, and the universe itself. And although Axonn had proven himself a reliable ally during the Xia trip, she had no guarantee he would side with her. There was very little chance that he would choose her over the conspiracy he had upheld for tens of thousands of years.
No. This was something she needed to do alone. It would be better, and safer, for all the people she loved if they were not involved.
At least…that was what she told herself.
The storm clouds had grown into a dark gray overcast by the time she finally touched down on the roof of the Coliseum, grumbling and growling and reflecting her own inner anger. Rain began to fall on the dead and derelict city, likely confusing what few residents remained. Penny did not care. She just wanted to go home. She just wanted to see her friends again. And if that meant bringing weather to Metru Nui for the first time in its existence, then so be it.
"Botar!" howled Penny, tears of rage and anguish spilling down her face. "I know you can hear me! I know what you have done to me! Bring me Toa Helryx right here, right now! I demand answers!"
She whirled around with narrowed eyes, searching the growing storm for the twenty-five-foot-tall brute. No shadows. No silhouettes. Not even a growl. He was ignoring her. He was ignoring her.
"I am done being silent! I am done following your rules! If your group is truly as good as you say they are, then surely they will not mind if I scream and tell the whole city what you have done to me! What the Order of Mata Nui has put me through!"
That was certain to get his attention. Sure enough, a faint pop sounded off behind her, the sound almost drowned out in the growing thunder. It was only her instincts screaming in alarm that warned her something was approaching with hostile intent, and by the time she registered the threat there was already a claw clamping onto her shoulder.
Not this time.
"No! You will not touch me ever again!"
Penny whirled around with a fistful of magic and Aura alike, striking Botar in the gut at the very instant he triggered his teleportation powers.
The fanged titan let out a bestial roar as the world around them flickered out of existence, as one claw clutched the Maiden's forearm while the other closed around her head. Penny did not panic, however - she merely reached out with her Semblance and laid down a web of glowing wires, which spiraled and splintered and sought out Botar's robotic components. Somewhere in that biomechanical frame was the power to teleport. The power to confront Helryx. The power to go home.
And she was determined to find it, understand it, and use it. If Botar would not take her where she wanted, she would make him do so.
Maiden and titan grappled and struggled for control of the fight and the power, trading kicks and punches and snarls alike as they disappeared and reappeared throughout the city. Botar growled as she batted his arms away and countered with a fierce headbutt, slamming hard enough that the shock wave shattered the glass of empty Archive displays. Penny screeched as his armored knee knocked the wind out of her, forced to draw an icy breath from atop a Knowledge Tower. She could feel his claws pulling on her hair as they tumbled next to canals of purified protodermis, trying to tear at her dress as they slammed into stone statues, failing to draw blood from her freckled skin as they slid down the sloped roofs of the Moto-Hub.
She did not care. She did not let go. She remained tethered to the brute by her own force of will, fighting and striking back until their battle took them to Ta-Metru's Reclamation Yard. A glorified scrap yard connected to a furnace. They fell into a pile of corroded metal and shattered Kanohi masks, crunching them under their weight as they tumbled and struggled. Botar's arm reached out and grabbed a long broken pipe, clearly intending to impale her on its jagged edges. But Penny caught the improvised weapon mid-swing and pushed with all her might, struggling for control of the makeshift staff even as Botar pushed back. When it became clear he was physically stronger than her, she switched tactics - she channeled pure heat and flame through her palms, making the metal heat up and soften in the span of a heartbeat.
Botar growled as the near-molten protodermis burned his claws, then screamed as Penny snapped the pipe in half and drove both burning tips into his eyes. Spurts of steam and oily blood assaulted her senses, along with the smell of her own burnt palms, but she did not waste any time. She locked Botar's arms behind his back with Technopathy, used her Semblance to assemble metal gauntlets out of the surrounding scrap, and delivered punch after punch to his exposed, burning face.
The scenery around them shifted and changed with each blow she delivered, taking them further and further away from Metru Nui. Many of them were lands Penny did not recognize, places in the Matoran Universe she would never otherwise see. A rotted forest with trees bearing thorny branches. Shores of ice and frost. A cavern of overwhelming light. A fortress that teemed with shadows. A rocky, storm-swept island enclosed by huge cliffs. The heart of a volcano. The peak of an acidic mountain. A barren stretch of nothing but dusty monuments and chain-link towers. None of them stayed for more than a heartbeat. None of them mattered. None of them were where she belonged.
"I am done playing nice with the Order!" growled Penny through grit teeth, sucking in a breath between each Semblance-augmented punch that left Botar's face even more deformed than usual. "If you will not bring me Helryx, monster, then you - will - take - me - home!"
Botar ripped his arms free of etheric bindings to catch her fist, then spat a mouthful of jagged metal and slag right at her face. For the first time since Penny had known him - perhaps for the first time in thousands of years - the Caryxon growled a single intelligible word with a throaty rumble.
" No."
Before Penny could even try to strike again, she found herself underwater.
"Mngh!"
Reflexes kicked in as she tightened her throat and sealed her lips, but a spasm of bubbles still escaped her nose and mouth and took some of her breath with it. The sudden shock of being unable to breathe made her freeze for the briefest moment, which Botar used to deliver one more kick to her chest that finally tore her free. Her hastily-assembled gauntlets fell apart and sank away from her, no longer held together by her force of will. She grunted and groaned as she went tumbling through the inky black water, stopping her spin with a thrust of her arms and a kick of her legs. Blinking her eyes to clear the stinging sensation, she clawed her way back towards Botar -
Who teleported away before she could grab him.
Her urge to scream was tampered by the knowledge that another breath was not guaranteed. She growled into the water instead and shifted around, trying to make some sense of her current surroundings. Bioluminescent plants glowed with alien colors, revealing nothing but high stone walls and strange-looking fish. Her ears hurt. Her eyes stung. Her chest ached for another breath. If she had to guess, she would assume she was very deep underwater - perhaps, even, at the bottom of the sea itself. Yet the rivulets of fluid that trickled through her lips and up her nose were not salty like normal seawater. If anything, they were…bitter.
Was she at the bottom of the Silver Sea? Or had Botar plunged her into another ocean entirely? Her throat twitched, reminding her of her predicament. Right. A mystery to puzzle out later. Humans needed to breathe.
There must be an air pocket somewhere, she thought to herself. If there is not, I can make one with my magic. I must remain calm…once I can breathe, I can call out for Botar again, and then we can finish this. It is a long shot, but it will be okay. I am going to be okay.
But drowning in the darkness would soon become the least of her worries.
"Is it someone new?"
An oily voice drifted through the water, followed by a pair of beady red eyes attached to a mantis-like blue head. A mouth with far too many mandibles opened into a twisted grin, several tentacle-like tongues stretching out to greedily lick its scaly face. The rest of the figure slid out from behind its rock, revealing a glowing cerulean frame that slithered through the sea with menacing intent. The breathless, floundering Maiden paddled backwards while shaking her head, only to press her back against a rock wall that kept her from fleeing.
"Hmm…I've seen a lot of freaks get dropped off, but none quite so…odd as you," drawled the figure as it crept closer. "Terrestrial biology must have gotten weird since I got thrown down here…how many years ago has it been now? Forty thousand? Ninety thousand? I lost count after the first few hundred life sentences they stuck me with - all because of some vicious misunderstandings, I assure you. Anyway, what's your name?"
Even if Penny had the breath to answer, she would not. "Mmgh…" she gurgled helplessly, trapped between a rock and an ugly place.
"Well, that's an odd name." The mantis creature tilted its head, watching the trail of bubbles that pushed through her lips against her will. "Oh…an air-breather, huh? Just like those Matoran we see swimming around sometimes, with their cute little weeds and their sunken little city. Ah well, don't you worry your ugly little head. Your new friend Takadox is here to help you adjust to your new life in the Pit…however sad, short, or pathetic it may be. There's a lot of other nasty creeps down here in the deep, and none of them are as good-looking or generous as yours truly. So I think I'll keep you somewhere nice and safe…"
Takadox opened his jaw six different ways to reveal dozens of buzzsaw-like teeth.
"…like my stomach."
Terror overruled logic. Panic took hold. A bubbly scream tore itself free from Penny's throat as Takadox closed in, as she raised her arms in a vain attempt to protect herself…
And suddenly she was out of the water and thrown onto a steel floor like a drowned rat.
Once Penny had finished coughing up seawater and greedily gulping down air, she looked around and took in her new surroundings with bleary, teary eyes. She was in a dimly-lit metal dome, not unlike the one where she had first met the Order of Mata Nui, but this one was smaller and sparsely decorated. One stone shelf along a curved wall held rows and rows of thin tablets, while another had shattered masks sitting on display. And an ancient Toa of Water was sitting behind a block of weathered marble, rising to her feet with a rare anger in her gaze.
"Botar says that you attacked him without provocation," intoned Helryx with all the fury of a wrathful judge. "Why? What is the meaning of this disruption?"
She could feel a shadow looming over her, and she could hear a throaty chuckle rumbling from behind. So Botar had gone and tattled on the Maiden of Mata Nui. Wonderful.
"Why…" Penny coughed up the fluid in her lungs and glared up with withering daggers. "Why are you taking his side?! He has been keeping me from - coff coff! - from creating portals! He has put some kind of - coff coff! - some kind of Seal on me! It has trapped me here! He has trapped me here!"
Helryx did not seem shocked or even slightly surprised. "Well, of course he did. Your ability to create portals through this 'Via Magna' is a severe drain on the Great Spirit's energy reserves, which must be conserved until the day comes when he can be awakened. Botar believed that it was safer and easier to disable that power, when there are so many more efficient transportation options available to you down here. Such as your ability to fly, or the chute network that you just fixed, or Brutaka's Kanohi Olmak…or Botar himself, naturally."
The waterlogged woman rose to her bare feet and spat out one final mouthful of liquid, sidestepping and turning so that both Helryx and Botar were in her field of vision at all times. "And I suppose that keeping me isolated and unable to escape was entirely unintentional? He certainly did not tell me he had done so! No one did!"
"Then perhaps it would serve you well to learn his language," deadpanned the Toa of Water.
"You think that is the issue?!" Penny seethed. "He kidnapped me! He took me away from my friends! He left me to drown, or to be eaten by a sea monster! For someone who is supposed to do the will of Mata Nui, that brute certainly acts more like a monster than a person! I have met Rahi who are kinder than him!"
Botar snarled and stepped forward, but Helryx raised a hand. "Go. Retrieve the package we discussed, use this as a chance to calm down and tend your wounds. I will speak with her."
That was the last thing she wanted. "No!" she bellowed through a ragged throat. "Do not dismiss him! Tell him to undo the Seal! Tell him to -!"
But he was already gone.
Penny screamed as she ran at the ground where Botar had once stood, slamming her fists against the steel floor and dragging bloodied nails along its surface. "No! No! Come back here, Botar! You monster! You coward! We are not finished!"
"Yes, you are." Helryx's words were as cold as ice as she stepped around her desk, moving to stand over the human falling apart at the seams. "Compose yourself, Maiden of Mata Nui. This behavior is unbecoming of my agents."
"But I am not an agent of the Order!" she wailed between sobs and waves of hot, angry tears. "I never wanted that! I have to go back, Helryx! I need to go to Mata Nui! I need to be there for my friends! And more than anything else, I need to stop the Bohrok!"
"Why?"
The surprised admonishment cut through her rage and fear, leaving only confusion behind. "What?"
"You feel that you must stop the Bohrok. Why? Why would you suggest such a foolish thing?"
She sputtered and shook her head. "Why would I not? They are destroying the island -!"
"- exactly as they are meant to."
Penny rose to her feet once more and turned to watch Helryx pace, as the Toa of Water so often did. The ten-foot-tall warrior in ancient armor made her way to one shelf of stone slabs, selecting one and pulling it out. She slid the tablet across the floor with an idle kick, not even waiting for her to pick it up and read it before speaking once more.
"The island of Mata Nui as you know it is not a permanent fixture of the Matoran Universe," explained Helryx. "It is, in essence, one enormous mask for the Great Spirit himself, protecting his face from the elements as he slumbers. It was supposed to be barren and lifeless, a simple shield of rock and stone with only a few key access points exposed…but it would seem that an entire ecosystem has taken root without our knowledge. Trees and mountains sprung up from transmuted soil, created by an outbreak of energized protodermis washing over the shores and nourished by fresh rains. Rahi fled from Metru Nui in the wake of the Visorak invading the city, migrating through passages long closed to seek refuge in the outside world. It was never meant to exist, Penny. It cannot exist. What you see as a lush, tropical landscape is nothing more than an error - an error in need of correction, if the Great Spirit is to awaken safely. And to that task falls the Bohrok, as it has before and as it shall again as needed."
Her mouth hung open. Her knees shook. That…could not be right. The island of Mata Nui was a paradise, one created by the Great Spirit himself. How could all that beauty and wildlife be a mistake? How could her new home be the result of pure, random chaos?
And yet…according to the tablet in her hands, which had Matoran letters crowding around a diagram of the Great Spirit Robot, with all six varieties of Bohrok clustered around the island imposed over its face, Helryx was speaking the truth. That only made the pit in her stomach tighten. Her fingers clutched the stone tightly. Tight enough to draw fresh blood from her fingertips again.
The old Toa of Water kept speaking, oblivious - or apathetic - to her inner conflict. "You believe that the Bohrok are a force of evil, like the Brotherhood of Makuta or the Dark Hunters. But in truth they are merely worker drones programmed to 'clean' the island when the time is right, clearing the way for the Great Spirit to awaken and return to his Duty. They are no more malevolent or immoral than a chisel striking at stone, or a wildfire burning away an overgrown jungle. If they are active now, then it stands to reason that Mata Nui is sure to rise again soon. With your repairs, and the city of Metru Nui operating at a quarter of its full capacity for the first time in centuries, this day may quickly approach. Thus, why should they be stopped?"
"But…" Penny's breath hitched, already afraid of the answer to the question on her lips. "What about the Matoran? What about their homes? What about my friends? What will the Bohrok do to them?"
"That depends on whether or not they continue to stubbornly - and foolishly - stand in their way." Helryx sighed. "The Bohrok are programmed to ignore sapient beings unless attacked, and only act in self-defense of themselves or their mission. Your friends would be perfectly safe if they stayed out of their way - at least, for a time. If the Matoran and those allied with them remain on the island when Mata Nui awakens…if they keep fighting the course of nature itself…then they, too, will be destroyed. If not by the swarm, then by the land breaking apart around them."
The Toa's words confirmed what she already knew, and made her eyes water. "But the Order would save them before it got to that point, yes?" she asked hopefully.
Helryx, for once, said nothing.
Her breath hitched yet again. "You…you would find a way to save them. That is what heroes do. That is what Toa do. Right?"
Again, the silence was deafening.
"You mean that…you would not even try to save them?"
The Toa of Water continued to say nothing.
"Helryx!"
Finally, a sigh. "I sent scouts to the island shortly after your arrival," she answered at long last. "They estimate that after a thousand years of living in the wilderness, less than six hundred Matoran remain of the original population. When Mata Nui comes online, and the Coliseum returns to working order…Metru Nui can make twice that many new Matoran in a single day. The only irreplaceable assets on the island right now are the Toa Mata, whose Destiny to awaken the Great Spirit would bring them off the island regardless. To efficiently and safely transport them to the Matoran Universe would require us to shed the mask of secrecy, the one weapon that gives us an edge against our enemies. We cannot reveal ourselves simply to save so few lives. They are expendable…but we are not."
A fresh wave of indignation and rage washed over her, fresh tears spilling down her face. "No…this…" Penny laid the tablet back down and pushed it away with her foot, daring to glare at Helryx as intensely as possible. "This is madness, Helryx! You cannot just abandon them like this! It is not right! It is not fair!"
"Fate rarely is, Penny Polendina." Helryx's shoulders actually seemed to slump slightly, though she refused to look her way - focusing only on the path that her pacing took. "But this is our best chance to finally see the Order's mission come to completion. To see the Great Spirit rise again, and to set things right. If it means losing the remaining Matoran of Metru Nui, then that is a price I am willing to pay. That is a price that the universe must pay. Those who remain, and those who come after, will honor and remember their sacrifice."
"Sacrifice? Is that what you call it?" spat the Maiden. "What you are asking me to do…what you are asking your Order to do…it is not sacrifice, Helryx. It is throwing away lives for a cause you believe is just, without allowing them the freedom to choose whether they live or die in servitude to that ideal. You are asking me to abandon my new home, and stand back while everyone I know and love dies - either to the Bohrok, or to Mata Nui's awakening. I cannot be part of that. I will not be a part of that. Not again."
The ancient Toa rolled her eyes. "You are allowing sentiment and emotion to cloud your judgment," she said flatly. "You would plunge an entire universe into shadow just to preserve a handful of Matoran and your human allies. Surely the return of the Great Spirit is worth more than a thousand times that many lives -"
"And they are worth even more than that to me!"
Her outburst echoed off the metal office walls, putting an end to the conversation for one tense moment. Helryx even stopped her pacing to look directly at Penny for the first time since beginning her monologue, glowing white-gray optics seemingly staring into her soul. There was an exhaustion in her gaze, one she obviously worked so hard to conceal, and it was almost enough to make her feel sorry for the old warrior.
Almost.
"You told me that humans live short lives," intoned the ancient Toa of Water after a terse silence. "That their years number less than a century, and that even their machines and creations rarely outlive them. Perhaps that, in and of itself, is a blessing in disguise. Perhaps you should consider yourself lucky that you don't carry the burden of living for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. That you will never be forced to watch eras pass you by, to see kingdoms rise and fall, to fight against evils that take root in islands and realms beyond your gaze."
She turned away and walked over to a pedestal that bore old, withered-looking weapons. A mace with sharpened barbs along its bulbous head, and a rectangular shield marred with scratches and dents. Helryx ran one metallic hand along the length of the mace's shaft, clearly finding a memory in each nick and stain.
"Can you even comprehend the idea of living as long as I have, Penny Polendina? To spend over a hundred millennia mired in darkness, fighting to keep a flickering light alive? Toa were meant to have a cycle of Duty - an ordinary life as Matoran, an honorable career as warriors, and then a peaceful existence as Turaga. It is a cycle that has been denied to me. It is a Destiny I will never have. My doom is to always be a warrior, a curse I have endured with dignity and strength. I have fought more battles than you've taken breaths, killed more monsters than you have hairs on your head. And in the absence of the Great Spirit's gaze on his people, I have carried the weight of his world on my shoulders for a thousand years. You cannot even begin to imagine how much I've lost, how much I've sacrificed, all that I've had to do in the name of Mata Nui. To make sure this universe didn't fall apart without his guidance. This is my burden…and it is…so very heavy…"
Helryx fell silent for another moment as her hands traveled down the old weapons, then sighed before glaring at Penny over her shoulder pauldron. The exhaustion was concealed once again, replaced only by the cold, loveless stare Penny had come to know all too well.
"Yet I have come too far to let all those battles be in vain," she finished with a firmness in her voice. "I cannot stop. I will not stop. Not when all those ages of work are finally bearing fruit. Not when the salvation of my people - of all people - is so close at hand. One last sacrifice, one last sin, one last unspeakable act in the darkness…and it can finally be over. No more pain. No more uncertainty. Mata Nui will return, this burden will be lifted from me, and the Matoran Universe will flourish once more. And perhaps, then, I will finally find peace."
Emerald eyes softened for the briefest of instants, as Penny weighed the words of the ancient Toa. Helryx was clearly fatigued, that much was obvious, and to some extent she empathized. She knew how it felt to force oneself to carry the weight of the world, after all, and she had seen the misery such a burden brings. Yet instead of reaching out to others to share the load, as Ruby had learned to do, the first Toa had selfishly hoarded all the responsibility and surrounded herself with workers she could command instead of friends she could trust. And if she was willing to throw away the lives of everyone Penny knew in the world above…Matoran like Takua, Turaga like Vakama, humans like her father, even Rahi like Pewku…then that conviction and desperation made her dangerous.
"And what if you are wrong?" asked the Maiden warily. "What if the Bohrok are not supposed to be active right now? What if this is not the will of Mata Nui? Would you still commit to this sin, sacrifice all those lives, even if it was all for nothing?"
"In the flash of a heartlight, yes." Helryx's answer, too, was one she had expected yet hoped not to hear. "I would not have lived this long if I still held onto doubt. This is the way things were meant to be…the way things have to be. Destiny is a force that cannot be fought; you know this better than most."
Penny just slowly shook her head as her worst fears were confirmed. "…then you really are no better than Ironwood," she said harshly. "No kinder than the Brotherhood. No brighter than the very shadows you claim to fight. I also want to see the Great Spirit awaken, in gratitude for how he saved me and gave me new life and purpose…but not like this. Never again like this. Not even his return can justify the deaths of so many innocent people…of his people. Of my people. And if you cannot see that, Helryx, then you are not a Toa. You are just an oily reflection of Makuta himself."
Something flickered in the pair of glowing pale eyes for a moment as armored shoulders slumped slightly. Was it…surprise? Disappointment? Regret? Whatever it was, it disappeared in a flash, and the stony facade returned yet again. Penny could sense that even being compared to the worst element of the Matoran Universe was not enough to dissuade her, which meant that this argument was over.
"I am going to track down Botar," said Penny defiantly. "I am going to make him undo the Seal he has put on me. I am going to return home, I am going to hug all of my friends, and then I am going to stop the Bohrok. Whether or not it truly was Mata Nui's will for me to be here, I have spent too long away from everything that matters to me. Do not try to change my mind, Helryx - nothing you say will convince me."
"Then let me speak to you in a language we both understand."
Before Penny could even ask what Helryx meant, the Toa of Water made her move.
A bubble of pure water formed around her head, threatening to steal her breath yet again. Rather than panic, Penny furrowed her brow and tapped into her magic to freeze the liquid trap, turning it into solid ice that dissipated into harmless snowflakes with a flick of her wrist. She had a second to gasp before the heavy mace suddenly crossed the room and swung at her face, and it was only an instinctive lean back that allowed it to narrowly miss. Penny willed a crystalline copy of Vita and Luce into existence and struck back against its wielder, only for her spear to meet the rusted-looking shield instead…and for her gaze to meet a pair of optics blazing with cold, murderous intent.
…so this is how it must be, then.
She furrowed her brow and went on the attack, recalling every combat technique she had learned in her lifetimes just to survive. Toa and Maiden dueled with lightning-fast movements and world-shattering strikes that shook the air and rocked the room, neither wasting any more breath or energy on words. Her lunges and blocks were clean and precise, but Helryx's weapons were sturdier and her form was more advanced. Penny's armaments shattered into shards of glassy stone after just a few bashes and blows; rather than summon new ones, she guided the razor-edged pieces with her magic and showered her opponent with a rain of tiny blades.
Helryx cried out as several shards pierced her mask and lodged into her optics, but she ducked behind her shield to guard herself from the rest of the shrapnel shower. Penny leapt back to avoid a wild swing and ignited jets of flame against her soles, throwing down spears of lightning and creating swords of stone as she flew in circles around the Toa. Her opponent just twisted to block the magical barrages and shatter the slashing blades, her mace glowing as tidal waves and pillars of fluid answered her call.
The elemental clash between world-weary warriors was furious, but brief. Columns of water were either frozen or boiled away, shrouding the battlefield in mist and steam. Sparks and stone crashed against the floor and a sturdy bulwark, so close to their target yet not close enough. Javelins of fluid lanced the empty air. Beams of pure magic scorched and scored the metal walls. The few furnishings were shattered and thrown around by stray barrages. The pair kept their distance from one another as they launched blast after blast, each attack poking and probing for a weakness. For one critical moment to turn the tide.
That moment finally came when Penny dove down to the floor to avoid a typhoon rushing across the ceiling, slamming all four limbs against the ground and pulsing her Maiden gifts. Twin pillars of earth erupted from the ground underneath Helryx and curved at tricky angles, knocking the mace and shield out of weathered hands. It was only a split second of vulnerability, but that was all that the Maiden needed. All the time it would take to deal a debilitating blow. It would not win the battle. In all likelihood it would not even hurt the Toa in the long term. But it would give her time to run. Time to find a way out. Time to find a way home.
She channeled all her magic into the array of spinning stone swords. Helryx raised her hand. Penny whipped around, aimed her glowing cannon of emerald light at the ancient Toa -
And then, against her will, she stopped.
The crystalline copies of Floating Array dropped to the ground like lead weights, falling out of her control as her entire body seized up. Magic bled and dissipated into the silent air. A sharp, searing pain raced through her veins and arteries. It was not like Hakann's mental blasts, or Cinder's fiery touch, or even the sharp piercing claws of a Grimm hand. This felt…wrong. This felt like something alive was shifting around within her, bending her bones and muscles and even blood to defy her wishes.
One pained glance at the old Toa, who still had her hand extended, explained more than she wanted to know.
"A curious thing I noted about your biology," gritted Helryx through her mental strain. "Your soft tissue and organs consist mostly of water…a strange form of water I have never seen before, but water all the same. If I can sense it, then I can control it. And by controlling it, I control you. How foolish it was of me, to threaten you with drowning when we first met. This, clearly, is a far more efficient method of deterrence."
Penny whimpered as her knees hit the ground against her will, followed by the rest of her with limbs bent at painful angles with sickening cracks. No. No. No no no! She tried to scream, but even her throat and lips betrayed her. Even they were forced to seize and spasm against the cold hard floor alongside everything else.
"For what it's worth, I'd hoped it would not come to this. That you would see reason, remain agreeable, and accept things for how they are instead of how you wish them to be." The Toa of Water heaved a tired sigh. "But I learned long ago that hope is a fragile thing, quick to shatter in the face of a cold, uncaring, unforgiving reality. I know better than to hinge the fate of an entire universe on faith alone, and your actions today have only proved my point. You have become a liability, Penny Polendina…a dangerous one that knows too many of our secrets. With your powers, your wits, and your sheer stubbornness, locking you away would be impossible - even the Pit, our most secure prison for the worst criminals, would only slow you down for a time."
It took all of Penny's strength to turn her eyes up and glare at the Toa binding her blood to her will. To glare with a mix of anger and pain and betrayal. Even that action brought fresh waves of pain across her veins, making her cry with tears that would not fall.
Helryx barely even looked her way. "So, then, my hand is cast," intoned the ancient Toa. "What I do now, I do to protect this universe. The island must be cleared. The will of Mata Nui must be carried out. And the Bohrok must be allowed to fulfill their Destiny…by any means necessary. Botar."
Through the haze of tears building in her vision she could see that damned brute suddenly appearing next to Helryx once more, handing something to the Toa of Water. After a nod and a wave of her hand, the fluid within Penny sloshed painfully and forced her to rise. Forced her to float a few inches off the ground. Forced her to tilt her chin up. Forced her to expose her throat for a killing blow she could not stop.
But as soon as she saw the rubbery splotch of green in Helryx's free palm, she knew that something worse awaited her.
"No…" she whispered as her eyes widened and her throat quivered. Even speaking felt painful. "Please…please do not do this…"
Helryx said nothing as she approached with the Krana in hand, which squirmed and writhed as it seemed to sense that a new host was waiting. Tentacles sprouted from the back of the creature and swayed in the air, already pulling towards the tear-stained face of the trapped Maiden. And the entire time, Botar watched with a smug grin. A smug, toothy, monstrous grin.
"No!" Desperate cries ripped free of her throat, tearing her vocal cords as she fought against her own fluids. "No! Do not do this! Please! LET ME GO! Ruby! Papa! Takua! Mata Nui! HELP ME!"
Penny shouted and screamed. She pleaded and protested. She strained and struggled against the waters holding her arms and legs from within, dug deep into every available magic she knew and had. But not even the power of a novice Maiden was enough to overcome the elemental command of a Toa that had lived for a thousand centuries. Not when that very power was targeting her blood and moving her like a puppet on strings.
Fires burned fruitlessly. Ice blasted the floor uselessly. Lightning crackled from her fingertips and shot into the ceiling. The earth and wind rose to protect her, but Helryx powered through them both and closed in. Even her Technopathy was not enough to slow the old Toa down. As her doom loomed over her, Penny opened her mouth to release one more scream of defiance, to release one final gout of flame from her throat as a desperate defense -
But the Krana's tendrils struck her jaw and temples first, and all resistance died there.
"GHRK! Ngh…n-no…"
Her body went limp in mid-air as worm-like tentacles tunneled through skin and sinuses, trickles of blood escaping to mingle with streaking tears. Her Maiden magic burned with emerald flames around her eyes, only to be suppressed by the sickly green creature pulling itself over her face with a wet squelch. A wave of nausea washed over her as thin, wiry tendrils slithered into her nose and slipped under her eyelids, seeking out the easiest paths to her brain and nerves and anything else they needed to take control of a human body.
It was not a gentle process, but it was mercifully quick. Within seconds she felt her mind stretch and tear in a thousand different directions, as if the very concept of Penny Polendina was being ripped away from her. She wanted to fight. She wanted to scream. She wanted to throw up. She wanted to die. The Krana refused all those wishes with violent suppression and two voices speaking in forceful unison, replacing them all with only a single overpowering mantra that bore into her brain.
Clean it all. It must be cleaned.
No! she thought desperately, resisting the voices with all her strength. My friends! They need me! I cannot -
All obstacles must be removed. Clean it all. It must be cleaned. Clean it all.
I cannot! I…will not!
It must be cleaned. Clean it all. It must be cleaned all obstacles must be removed.
No…no, I will not! You will not control me!
Clean it all it must be cleaned clean it all it must be cleaned…
I…no…I will not…
Itmustbecleaneditmustbecleaneditmustbecleaneditmustbecleaneditmustbecleaned…
I…I…
"…it must be cleaned," mumbled the Maiden emotionlessly, hollow eyes burning through slits in the Krana. "I will clean it all."
Penny's last, anguished wail never made it to her lips.
(A/N): In my defense, I TOLD you guys that someone was getting Krana'd in this fic! This sequence was actually one of the very first ideas I came up with for this story, and I'm so happy yet so heartbroken to finally present it to you all.
Welcome to the end of Act One, people. It's gonna be a little rough from here on out, but I promise you - there is a happy ending in store for everyone, Penny included. How are we gonna get there? Well…you'll just have to keep reading to see. And I'll just have to keep writing so we can get there.
Special thanks once again to Ethereal23 for this one, this time for the dialogue between Helryx and Penny! Hope you all had a lovely holiday season, and I'll see you next year! Stay safe, stay sane, tell Viz Media that we want more RWBY, and keep being awesome!