//------------------------------// // 0 - An Unwanted Unity // Story: A Displaced Mask Hunter // by Runic_Soul //------------------------------// Alex let out a sigh as he looked around the convention. He had been somewhat perturbed that he couldn't work on his fanfics, what with his laptop still being repaired, but even he couldn't deny that he was eager to find out new events or gaming news that would be announced. It was the middle of July, and the annual convention had arrived right in the middle of an all-time scorcher of a week. With air conditioning provided throughout the building, not only were the regular crew and special guests there, but a slew of regular fans and even some people who just wanted to escape the heat were there, making the building vastly more packed than usual. "C'mon, Alex, let's have a go at it!" A friend of his in a home-made Sniper costume said to him before briskly running into the convention, his fellow Heavy and Engineer cosplayers following him to the Steam booth. Alex chuckled at this, before hefting the custom shield he had brought with him onto his back. Unlike the rest of his friends, who had all dressed up as various TF2 characters or characters from League of Legends, Alex decided to branch out on his costume and wore a Bionicle cosplay; A Nuparu Mahri costume, to be exact. Most people probably wouldn't get the reference, what with the series no longer in production, but it was nostalgic to Alex. Now, what to check out next, Alex thought as he looked around the convention. His mind, though, wandered over to a clock. Noticing the time, though, he remembered what had happened a few hours earlier and frowned. He had just been to the Lego section, and was quite happy since Lego had announced that Bionicle was returning to stores. As for now, though, he was fine with just walking around the minor booths, where various authors, company booths, or just independent groups were stationed. Since it was lunchtime, there was an all-time low of attendance for that day, only some of the more obsessed fans or workers there at the moment. As he walked down the aisle, he noticed an odd stall to the right. It wasn't a big one, by any means, but it somehow had this... appealing air to it. The booth itself had several shelves, each holding items varying from various series, some of which included a golden ring from Sonic the Hedgehog and a TF2 sentry that looked pretty realistic, which Alex was sure would interest his friends. However, that wasn't what interested Alex. In front of the stall, there had laid a man, a black scroll and what looked like an oddly shaped ruby clasped in his hands, while another man dressed as the Merchant from was crouched over him. Alex, thinking that the first man had fainted or had a heart attack, and was about to walk over and see if he could help. What followed, though, kept that from happening. The man dressed as the Merchant muttered some obscure words, which Alex couldn't understand, and a bright flash of light glared from the location. Alex shielded his eyes until the light faded away, and he looked back only to see the first man gone. The merchant looked around for a few seconds, thankfully not noticing Alex since he had hidden himself behind a nearby booth, then slunk back to his booth. Alex, not wanting to spend any time there, ran back to the main lobby the second the man was out of sight. Alex shivered as he remembered the creepy feeling that the Merchant cosplayer gave off as the man had left to who knows where. However, he knew that there was no-one else who'd realize that the one man was missing for a while, since he had been the only witness to the incident. Steeling his nerves, he turned towards the west wing of the convention and began to briskly walk in that direction. When he arrived at the stand, it was almost the same as he remembered it being earlier: Its shelves were chock full of various merchandise, its owner absent from behind the stand. Well, if I want to find out what's going on, He thought, I better observe the area around the POI. With that decided, he began to look around the stand. One item, however, stood out to him: On one of the nearby shelves, there lay a blue Zora mask, looking exactly like it did in 'Majora's Mask'. Picking up the mask, Alex couldn't help but notice how accurate the mask was to the original thing. As he turned the mask over, he felt the strangest urge to put it on, and began to lift the mask up... "Hello, there." Alex let out a yelp as he turned around, the Zora mask falling back down onto the table. There, standing right behind him, was the merchant that had sent the other guy to who knows where! I have to give him credit, he is certainly stealthy, Alex thought. "Are you, perchance, interested in the Zora mask?" The man asked, looking eagerly between Alex and the mask. Alex looked at the mask, then shook his head. "Not really, I was just looking. Besides, I'm not entirely interested in this type of mask," Alex said. The man looked at him with an appraising glance for several seconds, then gave a grin. "I believe that I have just the thing for you," The man said, and walked behind his booth. He briefly ducked under the table, before coming back up with his target, "I believe this will work quite well. I had gotten this from a Mister.... Farshtey, I believe his name was." In the man's hands, there lay what looked like a life-size Kanohi Volitak, the same one that belonged to Nuparu. during the Mahri arc. Alex was hesitant to accept the item, considering what he saw happen earlier, but heck! If what the man said was true, this was owned by Greg Farshtey, the godfather of Bionicle! Alex carefully took the Kanohi the man offered him in one hand, and looked at it with a crucial eye. Due to him being a considerable fan of the Bionicle series, he was certainly not going to accept its 'authenticity' with only a few words. From what he could observe, the mask certainly seemed like it was an item with a lot of hard work put into it, given by its heavy weight and near-perfect accuracy to the original mask design. It even had a mouth piece for someone to bite down on! Lifting his free hand, he formed a fist and knocked on the mask, resulting in the mask giving off a metallic *clang*. "It's made of solid metal," He observed aloud, and the salesman grinned wider at this. Drawing to a conclusion, Alex set the mask down and looked at the man. He was skeptical of the man still, but such a item would certainly be of value. "Considering that it's made of solid metal, I'm guessing that it is worth... $75?" Alex said, throwing a price out that wouldn't seem too low, but would still be a bargain for himself. He didn't want to dissuade the man too much, after all. "On the contrary, I'd like to give it to you. Consider it a gift," The man replied, and Alex looked at the man in surprise and suspicion. While he appreciated the gift somewhat, he was unsure whether to trust him, considering what the man had done. "I insist," Alex said, pulling out his wallet. The man looked at him for a little bit, then nodded. "Very well," The man reluctantly said, and held his hand out for the money. Alex looked at the man with some surprise, since he had expected for the man to try to raise the amount by some degree, not just accept the given price. Not one to complain, however, he gave the man the decided amount. As the man put the money in his pocket, though, Alex finally couldn't hold back the topic he wished to bring up, and said to the man, "I'm guessing this is where I'm sent to an alternate dimension?" The man's eyes widened for a second at the statement, then narrowed. A menacing aura began to surround the, causing for Alex to start to feel afraid of the man, and he took a step back, ready to flee. Damnit, Alex, why didn't you keep quiet?, he mentally chided himself. This was when the man finally made his move. Rushing forwards at a speed that betrayed his build, the Merchant-dressed man grabbed the Kanohi Volitak and slammed it on Alex's face, Alex instinctively biting down on the mouthpiece as it slid in his mouth. What followed next could only be described as pure pain, Alex letting out a blood-curdling scream at the feeling. For seven consecutive seconds, it felt as though he had his blood replaced with acid that was on fire, while blades were constantly rattled back and forth after piercing each of his joints. Once the seconds passed, the pain instantly faded, leaving blissful nothingness that Alex gratefully succumbed to. As such, he never heard the words uttered by the man. "You should've kept quiet, boy. Now, however, you will have to deal with a terrible fate set upon you." The Merchant frowned as he transported the teenager away. He had not expected for someone to actually challenge him for sending people away. Well, none who haven't been displaced already. I'll have to start keeping people from remembering, or else I'll be swamped with people either investigating the disappearances or asking for powers as well, he thought. With a wave of his hand, he ensured that no one would remember those that were displaced. Nodding at his work, he went back to the booth, awaiting his next customer.