"Sometimes, my brothers, the best way, the only way to win... is by losing."
— Teridax, Into the Darkness
Pew Pew
CRACK!!!!
Pew Pew Pew
“You’re really enjoying that, aren’t you?” The Kraahkan sighed in annoyance at the sight of my childish antics. Another tree had fallen down, and only a charred stump remained.
Pew Pew
While I was exploring my location and finding some good vantage points, I chose to practice some of my new powers. My mask had projected a list of my abilities in my mind and so I got to work.
Right now, I was testing out my Laser Vision. I guess I enjoyed it a little……...
“Of course!” I laughed, firing more of my death beams from my eyes. “I’m shooting lasers, lasers, with my eyes!”
“You’ve barely gotten to power #30 and you’re so fixated on this one power!” the mask groaned.
True, we hadn’t made much progress within the two hours we had been doing this (or at least as little progress as learning 30 powers could be called), but what’s the point of learning this if I couldn’t enjoy it a little. Still, the Kraahkan did have a point...
“Alright, alright,” I huffed, ceasing from my carnage. I returned to walking along the coast.
Given how far I had been going, I deduced myself to be either on a coastline or an island. It was hard to see a lot due to the raging storm, but I think I saw a large object that resembled a mountain or volcano.
Evil volcano lair confirmed? Let the dream be real!
“What’s next?” I asked my mask, sifting through the mental list of my powers. Powers weren't everything, of course: I would need to work on smithing and combat training. I might have the memories of Teridax, but I would need to build up on my skills and learn them on my own.
“With this storm?” Kraahkan hummed, deep in thought. “Weather control, and maybe we can dabble in Chain Lightning….”
“Okay, how does this Weather control work?” I asked in curiosity. Was it possible that I could alter the storm, maybe make it heavier or lighter?
“Okay, this takes deep concentration like any of your other abilities. You have to think of the storm, then you have to twist it to how you want it to perform. It has to stick to the natural state though; you can’t make it something it isn’t,” the mask lectured.
Alrighty then, let’s try it out.
I focused on the storm around me. My thoughts went to its creation, its location. I then started to shift it, forcing it to move at my command. I then manipulated the wind and it became faster and stronger; it soon transformed into a full-blown tornado.
I could make a tornado, but could I stop it? I tried the idea out and attempted to will it away. To my surprise, there was no response- the massive twister simply kept barrelling forwards, tearing up trees and rocks in its howling winds.
Why couldn’t I destroy something I created? This was unfortunate, because at this rate the tornado would reach me in seconds..
“The energy already is there,” the mask said. “You can’t just get rid of it, it’s alive now. You have to direct that energy away from the tornado, divert it to something else!”
That’s it!
I went back to focusing on the storm and the tornado. Slowly, the tornado started to unravel and dissipate into the sky. By transferring the energy of the tornado back into the storm, I had stopped it.
“Interesting concept,” I chuckled, watching as the storm swelled slightly with its newly reaquired power. Who knew that these things could be so complicated. Usually, people use magic to do things and make it look easy. “It makes it easier to use it on my enemies, they can’t just will it away…...How about this Chain Lightning?”
“Lightning is an element, it is energy. Focus that energy to a certain point in your body, preferably your claws, and unleash it at your target!”
“Okay, Emperor Palpatine,” I joked, electricity now dancing at my finger---claw tips. “I will ‘unleash my anger’!”
With that bad pun said, I shot the lightning forward and obliterated a nearby rock.
“Not bad. I honestly expected you to do worse than this…..” my advisor mocked. I found his lack of faith...disturbing.
Okay, I’ll stop!
“Gee, thanks for that vote of confidence,” I shot back, sarcasm in my voice. Was the Kraahkan helpful? Yes. Was it a great thing to chat with? Not really……
My training continued like this for awhile. I took care not to destroy large objects or make messes. Wouldn’t want anyone finding out they have a walking robot of death nearby.
Who knows what kind of pitchforks they could have!
“Okay, now we can try Gravity control---” the mask said, going further down to our next list.
“Gravity control?” I stifled my laughter. How many things could I do? Now that I thought about it, maybe I could learn to combine them or use them in conjunction with magic from this world…..
“Let’s focus on you being able to use the powers first, then we can experiment,” the mask chuckled. “Though, it’s good to see you’re starting to think like a Makuta.”
Pride swelled within me. I don’t know why, but the thought of being a member of such a powerful race felt….comforting. Like I could finally control my own destiny.
“Okay, let’s mess with gravity,” I replied with enthusiasm. I then looked over towards some trees.
“While Lightning is an element, Gravity is a force,” the mask explained “You can not simply command one of the pillars of existence. So instead, you must work with it.” I nodded, though given that I was communicating with a voice in my head, I wasn’t quite sure why. The mask seemed to understand, though. “You must extend your senses, feel Gravity tugging at you. You feel its power, its raw force? Assist it. Increase it. Make it better.”
I grinned. Reaching out, using the power, the trees cracked and started to bend before completely crashing down. Even from my distance, I could see the downed trees shake violently as I upped the pressure.
BOOM!
The trees literally exploded into splinters, the force of gravity so overwhelming that they could no longer continue supporting themselves in once piece
I laughed manically. Imagine if that were an living being! I could not only force them down, but eventually crush them if I wanted to.
I continued to use this power as I trailed down the coast, seeing what the limits were to it. Seems like any potential target had to be within a certain distance and definitely within eyesight.
I then stopped in my tracks as my eyes laid upon an new site. “Oh, what do we have here?” I asked myself inquisitively.
Before me lay a settlement. It had some buildings, big buildings, dotting a rocky cliffside, but it mostly consisted of caves within what seemed to be a volcano or mountain.
“Ah, Civilization! I have found thee!” I cried with joy. Having only a voice in my head to talk to was getting lonely, especially when said voice was an evil artifact that’s goal is probably a coup d'etat of my mind.
“What gave you that idea?” it asked innocently.
I chose to ignore the mask. Great practice for when I would employ minions who would most likely be far from intellectual geniuses. Tell them only what they need to know; nothing more, nothing less.
I reached the village, scanning for any signs of life. The storm was still raging on, so I doubted they would be out in this weather.
My investigation would not prove fruitless, however. Seeing lights emanating from what seemed to be a tavern, I deciding I didn’t want to stay in the storm anymore, and I chose to go inside.
The doors seemed larger than those of ponies or smaller species, so that narrowed down what species dwelled here. When my Kraahkan divulged the secrets of this planet, Equus, to me I had witnessed a bountiful number of creatures. Truly this world was a masterpiece, aside from some minor faults.
Reminiscing the information I had aside, I pushed the doors open to reveal the inhabitants of the inn. They were large, enormous, even. I’d call some of them the largest living creatures I’d ever seen. They had powerful wings, long tails, sharp teeth and claws, and were covered with scales.
Dragons.
“Good evening. Or is it morning?” I said cheekily, all eyes drawing towards me in curiosity. “You must forgive me, I’m not use to the current timezone.”
They sized me up, some looking at me with suspicion while others gave me looks of amusement. A large group of masculine dragons gave me suspicious looks from a table by the restroom, while a slimmer, feminine drake glanced at me from behind the bar, before returning to her mixing. Now would be the best time to peer into the reptiles’ minds, a concept that was both frightening and interesting to me. I couldn’t close my eyes, but all the same I focused intently, allowing the echoes of thoughts to pour into my mind.
“Another one of those Equestrian’s magic golems?”
“A strange thing indeed……”
“What’s that pile of scrap here for?”
“It might be Equestrian, maybe one of the companion golems those unicorns use. Most likely belongs to some wannabe adventure looking to take our gold…..”
I felt somewhat insulted.
They continued to think on what my origin and purpose was. Though, I felt miffed about some of their thoughts (A magic golem, really? Those mindless slaves were far beneath me!), I chose to ignore them and their ignorant theories. How could they know of what I truly was?
Besides, I was led here for a purpose: protodermis, the strongest metal in all of Bionicle. I needed a source and it seemed that the locals here might know the location. That was something I would dig up from their heads.
With care, of course. I wouldn’t want to leave their minds permanently damaged.
I walked up to the bar and took a seat between two rough looking dragons. The innkeeper, positioned near the office, gave me a conspicuous look. The female dragon turned away and filled some more ale cups with beverages.
“Can I help you Mr…..?” she asked cautiously over her shoulder.
From what I gathered by hearing their thoughts and reading their memories, it seemed like many travelers had come here for not-so-noble reasons. I’d have to advance carefully.
“Makuta Teridax,” I replied to the dragoness. “And to be blunt about my predicament, I am lost.” One of the dragons next to me snorted.
And he's on my shit list.....
“Well then, I welcome you to ‘The Green Drake’,” she huffed. Turning back towards me, she gave the rude dragon sitting next to me his drink. “As for where you are, this is Brimstone village. Just a small colony living in the southern isles of Dragonia.”
“I see,” I mumbled, looking around the building. “Well, I've come here for something.....important.” Some of the dragons stiffened.
Dragons are, by nature, a greedy bunch who rarely trusts those in their own group, let alone an outsider. All kinds of thoughts rushed to their heads.
Does he want our gold? Is he looking to make some nifty armor out of us? Maybe he wants fame and glory by killing a dragon or two……Could he be looking for the Pool of the Divine?
Pool of the Divine? Well, seems like I found what I’m looking for.
It seemed that Dragons were also renowned for their skill in smithing, something I could relate to, and had tried multiple times to utilize the pool. Unfortunately, Protodermis was a dangerous substance that many could not use. Even I could suffer from it, and I had many memories of using the beautiful substance.
As such, vivid images of these dragons, thought to be the greatest in the world at the craft, failing to achieve the task bolstered my own ego.
And gave me an idea for my future plan.
“I’ll get straight to the point,” I huffed, pretending not to notice as the two drakes near me slowly drew their weapons. “Your...community has come into possession of a valuable resource. One that you don’t understand, nor know how to manipulate.”
The dragoness dropped her arm on the table and puts her head on her hand, giving me a skeptical look. Her eyes darted to the two dragons who looked ready to impale me. “The Pool of the Divine?” she asked hesitantly.
“Yes, though the name does sound ridiculous,” I chuckled, mimicking her action. I heard the thugs near me fully draw their sword. This wouldn’t quite do. I pulled myself back up to full height, subtly adjusting my massive figure, and with a little concentration, I started to generate an aura of fear around me. Clearly it was working, as even the sassy dragoness before me started to tremble.
“Cloudy with a chance of dragon’s blood.”
Their was one downside to fear, though. While it scared the crap out of those around me, leaving many a shivering mess, it also made some creatures do rash things….like trying to chop my head off.
The dragon’s sword swung down towards my head. My hand shot out and I grabbed the blade. My head slowly turned towards the dragon, my eyes glowing a blood red.
“Well, this is rude…..” I tsked, twisting the sword out from his grip. I tossed it to the ground, before snapping it like a twig beneath my massive foot.
This led the other drake to strike me from behind, but, seeing it coming, I had time to apply a fair amount of mental power to my next task. I teleported out of the way; the second thug’s sword slashed his friend, leaving the latter to cry in pain and crumble to the floor.
While the standing dragon was still in shock by his friend’s predicament, I fired lasers at his back. This forced the poor creature to shriek in pain as two burnt holes appeared in his back. He too fell to the floor, right next to his friend.
I walked over to the two downed dragons, both in a pile of misery. “You know, you really should treat strangers better…..” I said nonchalantly, standing over the pathetic heap that lay before me.
“You never know who you might run into. There are some crazy people out there after all…..”
“I suggest plasma, it melts right through those pesky hides,” my mask suggested lazily. “It’s real easy, all you have to do is generate it from your hands like the lightning. Focus the energy into your palms!”
I did just that, the plasma glowing an orange-white. It seeped from my claw, and I aimed it at my two opponents. This had proved little of a challenge. I expected more from such a powerful race after all.
“Wait!” someone shouted from the back of the room.
Ugh, what now? Someone going to beg me to not kill their brother/son/father or some other nonsense? Then I would laugh maniacally like some evil villain. They would challenge me to some useless competition through taunts and playing with my ego to save the souls of their loved ones. Then I’d crush their hopes and execute their relatives before their very eyes. It was only proper protocol for a good villain.
A young, pink, dragoness pushed through the crowd until she reached the scene. Unlike those around me, she showed no fear of me.
Dear god, it was going to be one of these things. Brave youth defeats the evil monster, bleh.
“Your media sucks, especially your petty villains,” the masked huffed. “Honestly, who kills their brother and then makes a one-eighty and turns on his home because some chucklefuck with a halloween mask told him ‘the awful truth’?"
I know! It makes no sense to do that after you get past a hundred episodes just to advance a plot that seemed so unexpected!
“Okay, I have to see more of this!” my masked laughed. With the voice gone, I suddenly regained awareness of my situation. Brave youth, evil monster, and me without my wise guide. This was really a bad time for this.
“Hey!” the young drake shouted. I groaned and turned my attention to the youth, though my plasma ball was still aimed at the two ruffians on the ground. Can’t be too careful……
“What is it?” I asked in annoyance. “You dragons are becoming a nuisance.”
She shot a quick look of worry to the two on the ground, mainly the one with a gash in his chest. Interesting- seems I was right about the whole, ‘sibling tries to beat the big bad guy to save their brother,’ bullshit.
“Bionicle 2 Legends Of Metru Nui….Let’s see here,” the Kraahkan mumbled, looking through my movie memories. While my mask was screwing around, I decided to look into the kid’s mind.
Okay, she’s 16, one of the dunderheads is her brother, she is a prodigy crafter…. Aaannnnd she wants to try and convince me to take some silly challenge to test the skill of smithers.
So cliche.
“You can’t do this,” she shouted in anger.
Yes, yes I can, I thought.
“I challenge you to a competition of crafts and a dual of combats. I challenge you to a Krazikar Dual!”
Many around us gasped in shock, now scared for the young girl’s life. I, on the other hand, nearly threw up. For the love of---this was I was what I was just talking about!
“A Krazi---what?” I stifled my laughter. It was ridiculous name with a even ridiculous concept.
The kid thought I was confused, so she chose to explain it to me. “The premise is simple, we both must craft a weapon within a day; then we must use that weapon is a trial of combat!”
“Right, and what could I possible get from this?” I asked the dragoness. I couldn’t believe I was even taking this seriously, there was no way I would acc---
“What’s wrong, you scared a little drake is gonna out do you?” she taunted. I flinched at that. Was she goading me? There was no way--- “That’s too bad, I thought you might wanna one-up us ‘nuisances’?”
I twitched at that. “Sorry kid, but I don’t need to prove I’m better than you.”
“What if...what if we let you have the Divine Pool if you win!” she suggested. Now she was just grasping at straws.
“Uh, I don’t need your permission to take the Protodermis,” I snorted. “I can kill all of you and then I can take it for myself.”
“What if I told you there was a password to open the vault it's in?!?” she challenged. I did a quick read of her mind to see that she wasn’t bluffing.
I could just dig the password out of her pretty little head, but at this point I chose to amuse her. Besides, on second thought, there was something I could actually get out of this......
.
“Okay, if I win you’ll tell me the password--”
“--And if I win, you have to leave forever and promise to never harm any of us!” she interrupted. Many of the dragons around me cheered in agreement, clearly proud of the young dragoness.
“But,” I smirked, I wasn’t done with my demands. “If I win, you and your village must also swear eternal fealty to me and my Dark Legion!” The other dragons lost their cheerfulness. It seemed that giving their loyalty to some strange robot wasn’t what they really wanted.
The things was, I needed minions. I needed a loyal and dedicated force to serve my will without question, and dragons would be a great bonus to my horde. Besides, others usually avoid dragons. This could work in concealing my existence; that, and others might start poking around if an entire dragon colony suddenly vanished.
The girl looked back to her friends and kin, searching for signs of disapproval. Slowly, each one nodded to my request. She turned back to me, her confidence never wavering, and gave me her answer.
“It’s a deal, Makuta Teridax!” She proclaimed, puffing her chest out.
“What is your name, child?” I questioned curiously. Admittedly, I was impressed by her bravery. Foolish courage, mind you, but courage none the less.
“Ember Root,” she answered haughtily.
“Okay, Ember Root,” I echoed. An interesting name. “Let us begin then. Take me to the Pool of the Divine and bring a suitable workshop to the site.”
“Fine,” she huffed, motioning some of the dragons to do what I requested. “I don’t know what you hope to achieve. The greatest materials are near the top of the volcano: Brimnite”
“You will see, my sweet dragoness, you will see…..” I answered ominously.
“You know, you’re kinda creepy…..” she deadpanned.
With that said, she led me out the door. I followed after her, going over the designs of my weapon. Strange, the Kraahkan usually would be talking nonstop about---
“What the fuck!?!” And there he is…….
“Shut up, I just finished watching that stupid movie!” he growled.
“What was wrong with it?” I asked through my mental connection. It would be awkward to talk out loud to myself. “I thought it was okay….”
“Uh, because they had no real fight scenes with Teridax. All we did was shoot shadow hands out and use water pillars to stop our foes. We have 42 powers, 42! Where is the diversity, the finesse?” he ranted.
“I just assumed they had a low budget,” I mentally shrugged. “But, they could have done better…” I went back to focusing on my weapon design and following the dragon guides.
“Alright,” the mask huffed, storing away his frustration. “Why did you take this deal again?”
I reviewed my logic behind my decision. We needed minions who could go out in public and not give us away. Killing an entire dragon village would also raise too many questions, ones that would lead to investigations. I needed to think smart and build up my forces. We needed something to start with, and these dragons were just right.
“I can see your logic behind that….okay, so this weapon you want should be good,” he mused, looking over my mental schematics. “Luckily, we have a day to teach you to become a skilled crafter… or at least a capable one. With the memories you have, it should make it easier.”
“We’re here,” Ember Root said, stopping the party. “Your supplies will be here shortly. Now, if you don’t mind, I’ll be off!” With that said, she flew away.
It was a decently sized entrance and following it, it seemed to lead into the center of the volcano. I walked in and looked around until I reached the middle of my new sanctum. It was near the right hand corner of the cavern that I spotted an expansive pool filled with the clear silvery liquid.
“Ah, Protodermis,” I smiled, walking over to the substance. I admired the clear, shimmering pool. This was my building block for my great masks and tools, and I would also use this to build my children.
The Rahkshi.
I felt giddy at the thought. Creating was something I had always loved; in fact, it was the reason I loved Bionicle and Lego. The things I would make here would stand the tests of time.
A loud thunk woke me from my daydreaming. I turned around to see two dragons set down my work station (a consolidated, portable unit, of course).
“You might want to stay clear of that,” one of the dragons, and elder by the sound of his voice, chuckled. “Many have fallen victim to its alluring beauty….”
I scanned the work station, looking for any flaws that might make my work difficult. I was pleased to find none and I lifted the hammer.
“Good….good…..” I muttered, looking at the tool. I would have to upgrade it eventually, but it was a fine piece of craftsmanship.
I then turned towards the pool of protodermis. Now to take the first step. Magnetism was an interesting power, and one I would need to perform it for me to work.
“Like Gravity, Magnetism is a Force. You have to work with it in order to manipulate the metallic substance,” my mask instructed. “Pull it towards you, slowly so you don’t have it splatter against you, and set it towards the forge.”
The two dragons gave bug-eyed looks as some of the silvery substance floated in the air, slowly drifting towards me. I laid it on my anvil and struck it with my hammer in constant succession. The dragons glanced at each other, before turning to leave. I paid them no heed. This would take concentration and time, but it would be worth it…..
I waited impatiently for the strange robot, rain pouring in all around them. I had finished her sword early in the morning and was feeling pretty confident in my work. While I hated to brag, and by I she meant loved, it would probably wreck anything the strange being would make. As for combat training, I had been taught at a young age to wield the tools I crafted. An expert in swordsmanship, I was sure I‘d be able to end this quickly. The blade would allow me to parry with ease, and since I was a dragon, one of the strongest races on the planet, I wouldn’t have to worry about being overpowered.
“Where is he?” I asked aloud to no one in particular. My question was answered when the air suddenly echoed with a series of rhythmic, metallic clanks, the sound of claws scraping stone. Emerging from the swirling storm, the robot slowly strolled up the path. His smug expression didn’t spell anything good for me….
Then again, he was an arrogant sonuvabitch.
As he reached me, barely 3 feet away, I saw in his hands what seemed to be a staff or spear. Two bladed protruded from the metal poll. Nasty looking blades, I thought. I wonder where he got the metal from…..
“I was wondering what you’d show up, Bolt,” I cowed. The machine just tilted his head in amusement.
“Yes, well perfection takes time…..” the Makuta said joyfully. He looked around to the crowd and back towards me. “Should I have to worry about collateral damage...or interference?” he asked politely.
That was another thing that bugged me about this guy, he always sounded too cheery. Despite his cruel behavior in the inn, he showed no signs of anger or malice. Just jovial……
“Nah,” I replied. I waved my hand and my kin flew up. They could watch the fight from above us. “I guess I should go over the rules.”
“That would be appreciated,” he answered. There it was again, cheery and smug. This guy was starting to sound like he wasn’t taking the seriously. Yet….it felt like something was filing through my head.
“Since it’s a dragon competition, the only things we are allowed to use is our weapon and our fire breath,” I said to Teridax. “Since you can’t breath fire I just get another advantage.”
“Is it a battle to the death or just until the other gives up?” he questioned. He seemed unfazed I would have an extra weapon and he wouldn’t. Weird, since he looked like the kind of guy who would protest that…..
“The winner chooses what happens to his opponent,” I said, a small shiver going down my spine. I would probably let him go, but I have no idea what he would do to me if he won.
“Seems reasonable,” he replied, scanning the area around us before looking at my weapon. “Ah, nice work there. While I wouldn’t consider it superior than mine, it is some of the best craftsmanship I’ve seen in awhile.”
I blushed, unsure whether or not that was a compliment or an insult. “Your’s isn’t bad either,” I commented. While I didn’t want to boost the guy’s ego, not that I think it could get and higher, it was pretty good. “What material did you use?”
“You like it?” Teridax asked, brightening up at my compliment. Maybe I could use praise to throw him off. “It’s protosteel, hardest you’ll ever see.”
“Where did you get?” I asked, still marveling at his work. While my town was enthusiastic about my work, I never really had anydrake to talk in depth about it with.
“Protodermis, or what you call the Pool of the Divine,” he replied, his chest puffed out in pride at his work. I was taken aback, however. How could he craft such a weapon out of the volatile material?
“That’s amazing,” I gaped, now holding the staff. “Ho--how did you do this?” I interrogated.
He took it back from me, gently handling his work. Pride shined from his eyes. “It was...difficult at first, but I eventually got the hang of it,” I answered. He then looked back up to me. “I think we should start this, wouldn’t you agree?”
I gave a nodded. “Let’s,” I answered, flying a few feet away from him. I felt a little queasy at the feat he’d managed to accomplish, but I didn’t even know if it could stand up to Brimnite.
It could be fragile as paper, for all I knew, since none have been able to use it before.
“It’s far from fragile, Miss Ember,” he said, making me jump in shock. How could he have known what I was thinking!?!
“Right,” I said, taking a deep breath. I then shot towards him like a torpedo, my long blade giving me only a couple of feet between me and him. My blade collided with his staff and sparks came to life from my sword. My eyes widened as I realized that he had stopped me in my tracks….
Not good….
I parried her attack with ease, though I was pushed back a little from the impact. Sparks flew from her sword, only proving who had the superior weapon. I began to like the drake for her sassy attitude, even if it was a little annoying. She also complimented my Staff of Shadows, so that gave her bonus points.
A shame I would have to kill her.
I brought my staff up, throwing her arms up as well. With her underbelly exposed, I delivered a swift kick to her stomach. She flew backwards and landed on the ground.
There was some worry that this ‘Brimnite’ might prove effective against my protosteel shell. But, she would have to hit me in order for that theory to be tested. I highly doubted that she would manage it…..
The dragoness was quick to recover, blood spilling from her mouth. Instead of rushing me, like one would expect the young drake to, she sized me and my weapon up. Good, she was thinking on how to fight me.
“I’m waiting,” I said lazily, slacking my guard in hopes of goading her into another hasty charge.
“You can keep on waiting, you bucket of bolts!” she shot back. Making a defensive stance, she waited for me to make my move, silently assessing my stance. Seems like she would put up more of a fight then I originally thought, but that only made this more entertaining. I wanted to fight this fairly, so I wouldn’t use most of my powers.
Most of them anyway……
I shot forward at a great speed, my staff bashing right into her sword. This left her confused on how such a creature with my stature could move so fast. I took this opportunity to bring the butt of my staff crashing towards her head.
She crumpled down at my feet, too dazed with my attack to get up. I lifted her up over my head and walked over to the entrance of the volcano. Throwing her in the lava seemed like the best way to go about this, no need to leave a corpse lying around or getting blood on my new staff. “Alley-oop,” I sang, tossing the confused dragoness into the lava. She let out a surprised scream and tumbled down into the lava. I waited to see the drake fail as she sank into the lava. Once she finished sinking, I turned back and walked towards the center.
SPLASH!
“Huh?” I said in confusion. Turning around, I saw Ember Root giving me a smirk of triumph. Droplets of lava dripped from her body, but she looked completely unharmed.
“We dragons are fireproof,” she laughed, shaking her head to scatter off the lava. “That includes lava, but…….” Her chest then started to glow and flames licked from her mouth. “If you play with fire, YOU’RE GONNA GET BURNED!”
With that said, she unleashed a torrent of flames towards me. The fire engulfed me and the surrounding area. It was hot enough to melt steel, I’ll give her that, but I happened to have the good fortune of being fire-resistance like her.
When she stopped breathing flames at me, she gave a quick look of pride before it turned to surprise. I was still standing, showing no sign that the fire affected me.
“I’m fireproof too,” I responded calmly. She gave a growl of frustration and took off into the air like a jet, rocketing into the sky. Lightning crackled and soon all the normal eye could see was a shadowy silhouette.
Luckily, my eyes weren’t normal. Within the dark clouds, high above the mountaintop, I could just spot the dragoness getting ready to dive bomb me. She soon started to drop down, her sword aimed downwards as she descended.
I raised my staff, ready to strike her once she reached me. Now was the time to break her pride, as well as her spirit. The air screamed as the dragon hurled towards the ground, bursting through the swirling clouds. When her sword reached striking distance, I sidestepped and brought the twin blades of my staff to her sword.
It cut clean through the blade.
From the surprise of her weapon being destroyed, combined with the fact that she was now meeting the ground with her face and not with her sword, she crashed to the ground.
“Owwww,” she groaned, blood trickling down her head from the crash. Further examination showed that she had two cracked ribs, from when I kicked her, and her wing was twisted.
I used my Magnetism to shove the broken part of her blade into her leg, earning a loud cry of pain from the young drake.
“Ow indeed,” I huffed, grabbing her neck with my claw. She let out a choking sound as I gripped her long neck, I then flipped her over so that she was facing me. Tears and blood were mixed together on her face due to the pouring rain. “I have to say, you did pretty good. It was inevitable, however, that we came to this sad conclusion.”
She gave me a determined look to not show fear, staring me directly in the eyes. “Just finish it,” she snarled.
I went to just do that, but then I stopped. Something about this felt wrong, wholly, utterly wrong. Something deep inside me screamed in objection, demanding I not carry through with the deed.
I tried to rationalise. There must be some logical reason for my rejection. Here she was, the hero of this small village, defeated before me. They would witness her death, and bitterly pledge their loyalty to me: a pledge that would mean nothing, for I had killed their friend. I had broken her spirit, and in a sense theirs as well.
But, if I left her alive and took her under my wing…. Well, then surely the dragons would serve with their new merciful leader willingly?
Yes, that was the way to go. I needed loyal minions, not angry drakes who would betray me at any opportunity.
I lowered my spear, gaining surprised looks from her and the bystanders. “You said, ‘I get to chose who lives and dies,’ did you not?” I questioned, though I still held her down.
“Ye--yes,” she stuttered, her voice dripping with confused on why she had not left this world yet.
“And, our deal was that all of you would swear loyalty to me,” I continued, letting go of the pink dragoness.
“Yes….” she answered, looking at me in shock. I delved into her mind to see the admiration she was starting to have for me. The other dragons also had shared thoughts. They thought I was only some thrown-away golem looking for blood, yet here I was sparing one of them.
“And do you swear?” I demanded, authority in my voice. Her eyes got bigger at my question. I was letting her live and still live in the community.
At that moment, she realized this was most likely the best option she could get, plus her curiosity of how I made my staff and what I really was clearly dominated her choice. “Yes,” she proclaimed.
A chorus of answers rang out as the other dragons bowed and swore themselves to me. I bent down and lightly touched Ember Root’s shoulder, the soothing energy of my Quick Healing cleansing her of her wounds and the pain that came with them.
“Then I welcome all of you to my legion,” I roared, a pillar of earth beneath me slowly raised me up towards the sky. My powers increased the storm, rain and lightning filled the world around us. “I welcome you to the New Brotherhood of Makuta!”
“Show them, show them our glorious future!” the Great Kraahkan shouted in my head. I grinned, and gave a small nod in agreement. There were tons of bystanders on the scene, and with considerable mental strain, I projected a simple image into the minds of all of the dragons, young and old. An image depicting a world where they were secure, a world where they would no longer suffer.
A world in my image.
“We can achieve this,” I shouted to the excited dragons. This image provided them comfort for the journey ahead. “But there will be obstacles! The Princesses of Equestria. Kings and Queens of the Dragons, Changelings, Minotaur, and all other nations will stand against us!”
“They will be nothing but insects, ones we will stomp into the ground!” my mask laughed manically.
This didn’t deter them, so engrossed were they on what they could have that they no longer cared about the dangers that lay before us. If they could better their lives and the lives of their children, then no price was too high.
“Together, we can leap over these obstacles,” I cried, my metallic voice thundering over the raging storm. “Together, we can achieve true perfection! A world of true happiness!”
They cheered, praising the future ahead. My plan had worked perfectly: the mobs swelled with shared excitement and anticipation. This was their time, their time to make a change in the world. And with their new leader, they could do anything; achieve anything.
I looked down at them, my chest filling with pride This was the first step, and many more would be on the way But now was the time to rejoice, for I had taken the first leap to achieve my plan and win this game.
Yes, a simple game.
That is how I would see this, I decided: as a game for me to win. For if I were to see this otherwise and see those I would sacrifice and destroy as real beings….then I would surely fail. I could not have compassion, love, or friendship jeopardize my plan.
There were many foes I would encounter. Villains who saw the world as their own, heroes who’d seek to strike me down, lords who could call the world their oyster, and her. They were all players and pieces, and this….
This is but a simple game……………