//------------------------------// // The Hive part 1 // Story: BIONIES: spirits of life // by Dihinner //------------------------------// Twilight couldn’t believe her eyes. In front of her there was a towering inferno of what moments ago was a place of torture and suffering. Now it was just death. She backed away as small explosion shook the ground. She saw a burnt silver object fly through the air and crash into the dirt in front of her. She stared at it. It was a now cracked and burnt version of Matoro’s Kanohi Tyrana. She remembered the last thing to Toa said to her and others: ‘don’t worry, we’ll be ok. Now, get out of here!’ her friends walked up beside her to watch the flames die down and eventually the fire became nothing but embers. Twilight sighed and started to make her way back to the town… Twenty four hours earlier… Matoro worked silently. He gazed at the other slaves at this infernal place. ‘The hive,’ he thought, ‘one minute I’m looking for it, the next I’m captured in it.’ He’d been sent to work with two other slaves, a pegasi and a changeling. From what he’s gathered, the Rahkshi of insect control is here, along with the three other Makuta. He sighed, ‘when are the others going to get here?’ the pegasi working with him turned to face him. “So… what brings you here to the hell hole that we call The Hive?” he asked. Matoro looked at him, his sight was diminished from his mask being removed but he could still vaguely see the pegasi. “Botched rescue attempt. I guess I should think before I fire a rocket at a wall huh?” The pegasi stared at him, “that was you?! Wow, nopony’s ever seen anything so mad.” Matoro coughed, “yeah, they weren’t too happy that I found the place.” “Rescue attempt you say…” wheezed the changeling, “you wouldn’t say that there will be another attempt soon?” Matoro smiled grimly, “the other Toa will get us all out. I give you my word. The only thing we have to do is wait.” The changeling wheezed, “Well, I don’t know how much longer I can hold out like this.” “What’s wrong?” asked Matoro. The pegasi answered, “Part of the exoskeleton around his lung is damaged. He’s having trouble breathing.” “I’m going to make it…” he wheezed, “I have not come this far to die now.” Matoro looked above to see the large Visorak webs. He could also see the six breeds of the spiders fighting amongst themselves. An unlucky Suukorak fell of the webbing and fell to its death below. ‘Where are the others?’ ********************************************************************************************** “You sure this is the way Applebloom?” asked Applejack. She had more or less recovered from the Makuta attack and now Rarity, Twilight, Fluttershy, Rainbow dash, Pinkie pie, the Toa and her sister and her friends were walking down the path they had taken before Matoro found the Hive. “Yep, I remember walking past these trees,” replied Applebloom. “So you were talking about ‘Giant spiders’ earlier,” said Nuparu, “what exactly did Matoro call them?” “Mr. Toa Matoro called them ‘Visorak,” said Sweetie belle, “what is a Visorak?” “Is it… bad?” whispered Fluttershy. Nuparu nodded. “Visorak are vicious spiders that obey the Makuta. It is essential that you don’t give them the chance to bite you and/or hit you with their Rhotuka spinners,” said Nuparu. “What’s a Rhotuka spinner?” asked Twilight. “A spinney thing that the Visorak have on their backs,” replied Kongu, “they are very nasty-bad.” Twilight nodded, “and what’s wrong with their bites?” Jaller stopped, halting the others movement. He turned to face them, “Hordika venom is naturally produced in the Visorak’s pincers. One drop can and will change you into a monster.” “M- Monster?” whispered Fluttershy. Jaller nodded. “It turned the Toa Metru into Toa Hordika. Vakama, who was the Toa of fire, left his team after being corrupted by it. He nearly killed Matau, the Toa of air, when he tried to bring him back,” replied Jaller. The ponies shivered. there was a poison that could mutate you into a monster? What kind of being could even think to live in a world like that? “But, you can change back, right?” asked Rarity. Nuparu nodded, “yes but only a few beings in the universe can cure it. The only one we know of is a mythical rahi known as Keetongu.” “The key to Nongu?” asked Rainbow dash. Nuparu laughed. “Keetongu is said to have a vast knowledge of poisons. Do you have anyone here like that?” Twilight looked off thoughtfully, “well, Zecora knows a lot about herbs and that sort of thing. Maybe she has a cure if one of us gets bit.” Jaller made an impatient sigh, “no one is going to bet bit by the Visorak. We go in. get Matoro and the pegasi and get out. Simple.” “If you call fighting your way through a hive of Visorak and Makuta simple,” grumbled Hewkii. As the group of fourteen walked through the orchard, a lone figure watched their movement. It smiled slightly as the little ones shouted out that they found the correct path and began to run down it. The being flapped its bat-like wings and soared through the air until it reached its destination. When it landed on the Hive, it was greeted by Krika. “Are they coming?” he asked. “Of course. They believe that they are heroes. And heroes never give up the chance to help someone. Now all we have to do is wait until they arrive,” said Mutran as he walked down a walkway into the Hive. ***************************************************************************************************** Crack. Bang. Swish. Those were the sounds that echoed throughout the hive. Nobody knew what exactly they were mining for or why. Matoro had chosen to stay with the Pegasus and injured changeling while he worked. “So when these ‘Toa’ characters are show up?” asked the Pegasus. “Soon enough,” replied Matoro as the cycle repeated itself. Crack. Bang. Swish. He turned to the changeling who could just barley move the mining tool. “You alright?” “Yeah,” he wheezed, “I’m not dead yet.” Matoro sighed as he continued to work. Then, he paused. Something in the air shifted, like when something bad is going to happen you don’t know what. Matoro tightened his grip on the tool as he waited. The Pegasus noticed Matoro’s change in focus. “What’s wrong?” he asked. Matoro quickly looked from one side of the room to the other, and then he replied, “Something bad is going to happen.” “Could it be the rescue?” wheezed the changeling. Matoro nodded, “it most likely is. Be on guard. It won’t be pretty.” The Pegasus moved over to the changeling to try to block him from sight, if the Makuta let something loose in the hive, it will go after the injured first. Matoro narrowed his eyes. Whatever it was, it was in this sub section. Matoro would hold whatever it was off as best he could; maybe the Pegasus and the changeling could escape during the fight? A chilling voice echoed out throughout the room. ‘Toa… you are foolish to think that you will escape…’ Matoro tightened his grip on the pickaxe and waited. After some minutes, the voice spoke again. ‘You think they will save you? They would rather leave you to die than save you.’ Matoro smiled darkly after hearing that. He spoke out to the disembodied voice. “Is that why they sacrificed themselves to give me a chance to save the universe?” challenged Matoro. Whatever it was, it clearly didn’t know Matoro or the other Toa. ‘You fool… they were lying to you…’ “If you call being surrounded by an army of sea predators lying then you’re wrong,” said Matoro, earning himself looks from the Pegasus and changeling. “Uh Matoro? You alright?” asked the Pegasus. Matoro glanced at him. “Yeah, I’m just talking with whatever decided to try to discourage me,” said Matoro as his eyes flickered across the room. He resumed speaking with it, “I’m sorry, whatever you are, but if you think for a second I’m going to believe that my fellow Toa are going to abandon this mission then you clearly haven’t seen what their capable of.” There was silence in the room. The creature that was telepathically speaking with the Toa of ice was surprised, very few have been so sure that their friends would help them. These Toa have faced monsters that could even make a Makuta go on defensive. ‘So be it, Matoro, Toa of ice. You have chosen your fate.’ “Bring it on,” growled Matoro. Then the entire hive shook, ************************************************************************************************************** “This is the plan?!” shouted Twilight as the Toa started to tear a large hole in the side of the hive, destroying any Visorak that came through. Kongu laughed. “This is always the plan,” he said as he fired a Cordak rocket at an incoming Roporak. Applejack turned to Applebloom and her friends, “now, y’all get as far away as you can from this place. It ain’t safe.” They nodded and ran off. After several minutes of Visorak onslaught, the Toa finally fought their way into the maze of webbing of the hive. They stared at the huge innards of the structure. “How are we going to find the pegasi in this?” asked Rainbow dash. Jaller grinned, “Easy, find the only thing that doesn’t make a buzzing sound and you find the pegasi. It will be easier if we split into groups. Keep your eyes open for Visorak and Makuta.” They nodded in agreement as they split up and moved in five groups, Rainbow dash and Hahli, Kongu and Pinkie pie, Applejack and Hewkii, Nuparu and Rarity, and Jaller, Twilight and Fluttershy. An Oohnorak decided to follow Jaller Twilight and Fluttershy. “So, how do you think we’re going to find our way out of here?” asked Twilight. Jaller kept his eyes focused on ahead. “Honestly, I have no idea;” said Jaller, “maybe blast another hole in the wall.” “HELP!” cried out a voice in the distance. The three turned their heads at the sound. “Applejack?” asked Twilight as she started to move to move in the opposite direction. “Applejack are you alright?” “TWILIGHT! RAINBOW DASH! ANYPONY HELP!” it cried out again. Jaller paused. “Something isn’t right,” he said. He made a small wall of fire around Twilight who was trying to run to the voice. “What do you mean? Applejack is in trouble!” said Twilight as she tried in vain to extinguish the flames. “Exactly. How could she be in trouble? She should be with Hewkii. And if they got separated, we’d here Hewkii too,” said Jaller. Twilight nodded, although she’s known the Toa for a short time, ‘they don’t seem like the type to just abandon somepony if they got into trouble. Applejack will be alright,’ Twilight told herself. The calling stopped. Followed by the shrieking of Visorak. Fluttershy shivered. During the fight to get in, a Visorak got incredibly close to biting her. Its mandible only lightly scraped her left foreleg. She did not like the spiders. Not one bit. ***************************************************************************************************************** “Ugh, what in Equestria would actually enjoy these webs?” asked Rarity as her foot got caught in some. “Ouch!” she said as a barb cut her. Nuparu cut the through the webs with his ABB (Aqua Blaster Blade) as the two searched for Matoro and the pegasi. “You ok?” he asked, stopping to listen for Visorak. “Yes, just a minor scrape. Nothing I can’t handle,” she said. Nuparu nodded, “well, ok. Just watch out for the Visorak. The last thing we need is a Hordika.” “Yes, they do seem quite monstrous,” replied Rarity. “That’s not the worst part. Imagine that one of the people you care about slowly turns into a wild animal. Slowly losing their mind to eventually become a beast,” said Nuparu darkly, “that is what Hordika venom will ultimately do.” Rarity shivered ‘venom that makes you a monster. The better these “Visorak” are gone the better,’ she thought. Twin pairs of dark green eyes watched the two from a dark corner. One readied its Rhotuka spinner and fired. And then there was only pain. Torturous, burning pain.