Emperor of Light

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Chapter I

Takadex paced the throne room, scattered lightstones casting a dim glow over the area. One particularly old one gave a flicker as he passed. He turned to watch it as it continued to flicker feebly, as if it held answers he sought.

A soft step sounded out from behind him, and he turned, the narrow eyes on his lizard-like face piercing the darkness of the room. The source of the step seemed to be a toa at first glance, but as Takadex looked closer he saw the broad shoulders and angular lineaments of a vortixx - a male.

The vortixx stepped closer, the lightstones revealing light gray armoring and a longsword in his hand.

“You,” said the vortixx, his voice gravelly, as if filled with decades of smoke and fumes, “you are the emperor of the United Empire.”

Takadex let his feet spread apart and willed his arms to loosen - this would end only one way.
“I am.” he said, “and you are here to kill me, correct?”

The vortixx smiled, and leaped.

Takadex was already moving, rolling out of the way and drawing his two greatswords as he rose. The vortixx altered his facing in mid-flight, turning toward Takadex and lunging forward the moment his feet hit the floor.

Takadex accepted the hit with one sword and stabbed with the other, forcing the vortixx to cut his own attack short and dodge back. Instead of pressing his advantage, Takadex leapt over the vortixx, rotating in mid-air behind him. The vortixx attempted to run back the way he had been coming, overbalanced and nearly fell, though he managed to get out of Takadex’s attack range - and more importantly, save face - by turning his fall into a truncated roll.

Takadex hurled one of his swords just as the vortixx was coming out of the roll. The vortixx tried to duck back out of the way, but it drove home into his arm. He snarled in pain and dropped his sword, and began to flee toward the throne.

Takadex was faster. He caught up to the wounded vortixx in two strides, kicked him to the ground, and stabbed downward, impaling the vortixx through the heartlight.

Takadex stared at the corpse for a moment, then grabbed his sword and yanked it out. A matoran came out of the shadows and Takadex shook his head.

“Take it outside,” he said, already turning away, “and bury it with the others.”

Two other matoran servants came out to aid the first one, and they dragged the body away. Takadex began to pace once again.


Chapter II

Antroz looked in on the battle, beating his wings slowly to stay in place. His powers of Shadow cloaked him from any wayward eyes. The bright light of the sun was agitating his back, but he would not waver until the battle had reached its denouement. It was not long.

Once he was sure of the outcome, he flapped his wings and flew higher, looking for Destral.

As the Toa Empire spread further and further, even Destral’s random teleportations could not keep it hidden satisfactorily. So Chirox and Mutran got together, and emerged before long to drag in Turgia, and then - after a few days - they told everyone to brace themselves.

The best bit, Antroz thought, was not that it worked. The best bit was that Chirox hadn’t added any teeth, or claws, or slavering orifices, or any of the other things he was wont to add to...anything.

Independent of Destral’s continued non-predatory nature, it was no longer the warping island. Instead, it utilized the power of a Kadin - it was the flying island.

So Antroz couldn’t be quite certain where it had floated off to. He quickly traced his route back to the barren island of Odina. Supposedly, two warriors fresh from their island’s civil war had attempted to begin some sort of mercenary organization there, but had been swiftly crushed by the Toa Empire.

From Odina, Antroz followed the wind currents until he spotted the dark blot of Destral, and flew to it.

After Destral went airborne, the Brotherhood took the opportunity to upgrade their security and defenses. The outer defenses could only be penetrated by not being seen, so Antroz cloaked himself once more in shadows and dove through. The inner defenses could spot even the best illusions, and was instead locked. Antroz hit the signaling device, and was answered after a few moments by a susbsonic tone that could only be felt by a makuta’s antidermis, and a portion of the wall slid away, seamlessly replaced by an illusion. Antroz extended a hand into it and let some of his essence drift through the hole. It mingled with the essence of another - Turgia, he noted - so he could be identified, and...the wall did not open.

It was not supposed to open. No illusions were supposed to vanish or anything of the sort. Instead, a hole in the anti-teleport field that surrounded Destral was formed, and Antroz teleported through.

Turgia met him on the other side, his Pakari gleaming despite the dimness of the inside.

“He’s up in the convocation chamber again with Bitil, talking about...whatever it is they talk about. He said he wants to see you right away.” Turgia said, not looking up from carving a block of protodermis with heat beams. The product appeared to Antroz to be a somewhat stylized Frost Beetle, of all things.

Antroz continued wordlessly through the haphazard arrangement of Destral’s laboratories, storage rooms, and sparse living quarters, before arriving outside the convocation chamber. He entered without knocking - partly because the two makuta inside should be able to sense his presence, but also because he hoped to snatch a word or two of what they were saying.

“ - are getting anxious. They want to hear word from Tre -“ Bitil was saying, until the other makuta flicked his hand. He was hidden in the shadows of the chamber, made all the more impenetrable by the Kanohi on his face: the Krahkaan.

The makuta made a dissmissive gesture and Bitil left, giving Antroz a suspicious glare as he passed. Antroz returned it without comment. Once he was certain Bitil was no longer nearby, he began.

“As you suspected, Emperor Takadex was able to defeat his assassin. Everything continues as it has for decades.”
The other makuta nodded to himself. “Time grows short for him. Soon we will act.”

-

The Norik Peninsula, located on the southwestern tip of the Northern Continent, was the heart of the Toa Empire. There stood the Hall of Heroes, the giant Empire Map, and - above all - the Imperial Hall, from where the Toa Emperor and his Council ruled. Their reach covered all the Northern Continent, Xia, Zakaz, Nynrah, Stelt, and nearly every other island around. They dominated the Southern Continent but for the handful of kio that the United Empire took up.

At the very heights of the Imperial Hall was the Observatory, where Emperor Bellise, Toa of Dimensions, could survey the land and ponder. He stood there at that moment, his gaze locked on the giant billboard that was the Empire Map, that showed all the Toa Empire held under its dominion. His hands were folded behind his back, which was hunched - though none knew why. Behind him stood Councilor Minder, Toa of Sonics. He was silent as he often was, but inwardly guessed Bellise was obsessing over the small red blot on the map - the United Empire.

“That monster Takadex has lain there all these years - the single failure in all our expansion ” Bellise hissed, still watching the map as though it might try to bite him.

Minder did not reply. To do so would be no more than to invite disaster. Bellise had a plan - he always did.

“I have had enough with playing games like a slippery makuta,” he muttered. Minder amplified his sonic powers to catch every word. “We will sweep over the United Empire...we will have it...”

“Shall I notify Sedrek, so he may begin planning?” asked Minder. Bellise gave a dismissive wave of his hand - which Minder knew to be an affirmative - and moved his gaze from the map out onto the city. Minder left silently as to not disturb his lord’s meditations.

Chapter III

Takadex sat in his throne room, watching the lightstones as they guttered. He heard a knock and looked up to see a servant escorting in a matoran. He was broad-shouldered for a matoran and sported a gleaming Kakama gilded with the finest protodermis.

Takadex smiled warmly, “Mata Nui, I haven’t seen you in a long time, Kit.”

Kit ambled to Takadex. “It has been a while.” he laughed. He had a voice that sounded like he was trying to sell you something. As owner of mega-corporation BioKit Enterprises, he usually was.

“Tell me what’s new with you, first.” said Takadex. “Otherwise we’ll never get anywhere.”

Kit shrugged. “Alright. Business is booming, I’m selling out of everything! Not airships, Takadex!” he rushed to add. “It’s been so long, I practically have a fleet in storage. Maybe I should mobilize ‘em all and start a coup against the Toa Empire, eh?” he joked, and the two friends chuckled quietly. “The Nynrah Ghosts keep sending me designs, and I keep making them basic enough to mass-produce. Do you know how many moving parts are in a Nynrah repeater?” he waited expectantly. Takadex had no answer. “Well...a lot. Anyway, it’s way too much to be profitable. So I take the principle they have for the cordak bullets, and keep that, but use a pump-action spring to launch them. It sacrifices a few bio of range and a maybe ten io of accuracy, but it’s extremely cost-effective...only two moving parts Not bad, eh?
“But I’ve talked way too much. What’s happening, Takadex?”

Takadex sighed. “The crop is poor, kikanalo are coming up further and further to look for food, a doom viper was spotted in the cellars, and a vortixx assassin came yesterday. All-in-all, nothing knew.”

Later...

Kit stood in the hall of BioKit Enterprises, hanging up a ‘Closed’ carving and locking up. He was beginning to walk away when the door blew in.
Toa Minder stood in the doorway, his armor gleaming. He stepped through the doorway as if nothing had happened.

“Sorry, we’re closed.” said Kit cheerfully, continuing to walk away. He was regretting not having kept one of the cordak blasters a little closer at hand.

A wall of sound howled into existence in front of him. He spun to see Minder idly holding out a hand to form the attack.

“This is a...special-order.” he said coolly, “I’m in the market for...battleships.”