//------------------------------// // Chapter Ten: There Is No Title! // Story: Piraka Don't Play Fair // by The Warmaster //------------------------------// Two Months Later Zaktan’s POV        I gazed upon the new factory. After two months, the Piraka’s organization had grown tremendously, with ponies in high places at multiple businesses across the world. I had decided to found a new company, with a Griffon pretending to be the head. This company, named Ironrod Incorporated, dealt in metal making, and ‘inventing’ new products. By inventing I of course mean replicating human inventions, except made for ponies and other species, but mostly ponies. Thok walked up to me, before standing next to me.          “Ah, this is the good life. Running an entire undercover crime organization, a manufacturing  business, and an illegal weapon facility.” Thok said, gazing down at the ponies hard at work. Most ponies of the company had no idea that their job was run by the Piraka, believing that griffon was in charge. The overhang we stood upon was covered in darkness, blocking us from view. The Griffon Kingdom had been the first buyers of our weapons and other creations, desperately in need of supplies to rebuild the Kingdom. They even allowed us to set up shop in their territory, in an unnoticeable spot of land west of Griffinstone. The factory we were currently in was located in Equestria.          “Yep. And the poor fools don't even realize that they work for Equestria’s most wanted.” I chuckled. For the past two months, crime in Equestria was at an all-time high, the Piraka’s organization covering almost every crime group. Each time the Royal Guard arrived, the Piraka’s new footsoldiers would slip out through holes made by Reidak, or simply vanishing, as the newspapers say. And, of course, with Equestria’s quickly rising metal making and invention brewing factory secretly run by the Piraka, all Equestria could do is wait for the big reveal. Our machines had revolutionized Equestria, phone lines and electricity wires being built all over. New dishwashers were in almost every home, and TV’s were just stocked in, waiting to be bought.                “We have Equestria feeding out of the palm of our hands, while slowly rebuilding the Griffon Kingdom. How long until we begin production of the rocket?” Avak stated, walking up to us. We had already begun plans for making a space faring vessel, just for the Griffons. It would be a great sign that a new Era was dawning over the world, that's for sure.                  “In perhaps two years, give or take.” I answered, before a buzzing sounded from my walkie-talkie. I pulled it out.                   “Zaktan, we got some bad news on the TV!” Reidak’s voice told me, and I nodded to the others before heading towards our office.                    On the TV, Celestia was giving a speech. But that was not what had caught my eye. Standing next to her were six very familiar bipedal and colorful warriors.                     “And now, my little ponies, I present to you these heroes, who will hunt down the villainous Piraka: The Toa Inika!” She declared, motioning for the six Toa to step forward.                      “Greetings, ponies of Equestria. I am Jaller, Toa of Fire, and leader of the Inika. I promise to hunt down these fugitives and bring them to justice.” The red and gold Toa began, but something seemed...off. “The ones known as Piraka are criminals from our own universe, and we thought them long defeated. However, it would appear that they have fled to your world. We will correct this mistake as soon as possible.” His voice had a darker hue to it, like he had something else in mind. It almost sounded like…. how a Makuta would speak. This realization was tucked away for later as I continued to watch.               “These are my compatriots, Hahli, Toa of Water, Hewkii, Toa of Stone, Kongu, Toa of Air, Matoro, Toa of Ice, and Nuparu, Toa of Earth. We promise to bring an end to the crime that these Piraka have caused.” Jaller continued, looking right into the TV. Reidak shut off the TV at that point.               “So  what do you guys think?” He asked.                 “Yeah, they sounded…. Different, like-” Thok began, but I interrupted him.                “Like Makuta?” I asked. He nodded, while the others looked on in shock.  “Why would they be Makuta? They are Toa, for Mata Nui's sake!” Vezok stated, confused. “Well, there was that one alternate universe thing. Perhaps they are from that universe with the Toa Empire thing?” Thok pulled out his Ice Pick, and began picking at his teeth in thought. “Well, these Toa seem different…. not that kind of different, they seem a bit more…..” “A bit more like Piraka?” Hakann interrupted, stepping out of the doorway. “The way they talk seems to me like how a thief would talk, with that small undertone of dark promises, like they plan to steal your most prized possession.” The rest of the Piraka stared at him, jaws slightly agape. “What? We ourselves are criminals. It takes one to know one, as they say.” He huffed at our expressions, crossing his arms. “For once, Hakann, you actually seem smarter than you should.” Thok picked up his jaw before continuing, ignoring the Crimson Piraka’s glare. “It does make sense though. I'm surprised we didn't notice it sooner.” “So, instead of good, honorable, and heroic Toa, we are going against possible thieving, barbaric, murderous Piraka with Toa powers. I feel the odds are in our favor.” Vezok rolled his eyes. “Yeah, but don't forget that along with our own powers as Skakdi, we also possess elemental powers. I actually like those odds.” Reidak countered, hitting Vezok in the head. Only to receive a punch to the face by an angry Vezok. “And plus, we have an entire army of criminals on our side. What could go wrong?” Avak chuckled, only to get a torrent of magma in the face. “Damn it Avak! You just had to say those fucking words!” Hakann growled, his magma launcher smoking from the previous launch. “Do you not know of Murphy’s Law, or are you just a special kind of stupid?!” He marched towards the brown Piraka, picking him up and holding him in the air by the neck. “I'm *ack* going to go with *gasp* Option One.” Avak choked, before hitting Hakann’s midsection with his Jackhammer, sending him flying into the wall. “Care to explain *wheeze* what Murphy’s Law is?” “Murphy’s Law.” Thok started, “Is a theoretical law of the universe, where if you say anything relating to the sentence ‘What could go wrong?’, the universe will personally ensure that everything goes wrong. So, in short, you have doomed us all Avak.” “Thanks, Wikipedia.” Avak growled, pulling back his Jackhammer from Hakann’s face. “So, how do we get out of this mess?” “Firstly, I'm not Wikipedia. Secondly, as far as anyone knows, there is no possible way to reverse the Law. So, should we just prepare for anything and everything, or just continue with our original plan?” Thok snorted, flicking his Ice Pick at Avak, in a ‘fuck you’ kind of way. “What, get the Griffons to declare war on Equestria? Oh wait, that's only if Miss Sunshine decides to hunt us down through the Griffon Kingdom!” Vezok growled. “ENOUGH!” I snarled, stepping into the middle of the group. “At the moment, these ‘Toa’ will be hunting us, probably even through the Griffon Kingdom. Our plan can still work, due to the fact that they are working for Celestia, and are probably considered either part of the Equestrian Military, or as Citizens. Either way, we cannot allow these Toa to find us. For now, we head back to our base at the Griffin Kingdom. I want all of you to pool your knowledge of the Toa Inika, so we can learn how to properly deal with them if they find us. Under no circumstances should our underlings be near them. We cannot sustain an intel leak. This means that we may have to cancel our crime operations in Equestria until they are dealt with. Any questions?” I gave each of them a glare that told them what would happen if they spoke. “Well, Zaktan, why not try to expose them for what they truly are?” Thok asked. I wheeled on him, my eyes glowing with an unspent energy shot. “And what do you mean by that?” I growled. “Well, we could rig a fight between us and them, try to get them to reveal their true personalities while someone secretly records the fight. We can then release it to the TV.” Thok explained quickly. My anger shrank almost immediately. The energy coursing through my eyes went out instantly, and I chuckled darkly. “Well, Thok, that does sound quite good. However, if we were to fight one of them, we would surely fight them all. Because Toa are a team, even if they are Piraka. So, who will be the one with the camera? Because I'm not fighting a team of Piraka-Toa without all of my fellow Skakdi.” I stepped away, before looking around at the others. “W-well, We could use one of our underlings to record. We could also fight in a populated area, for witnesses.” Thok coughed, sitting back up. “Um, aren't we forgetting something?” Reidak asked. I turned to him. “And what would that be?” I asked, slightly impatient. “Well, if they are actual, full on Piraka, they won't have any remorse killing any of us. However, we made an oath to not kill. Ever.” He explained, and I facepalmed. “Damn it….” I cursed, before chuckling. “...Heh, looks like the roles have been reversed. We can't kill them, and they can kill us.” I stared at the others. “There is one way we could win this without killing them. Don't know if it will work though….” “Well, don't leave us in the dark! Tell us!” Vezok snarled. “Well, it's just a theory, but if we have Elemental Powers, much like the Toa, it is possible we could use their strongest weapon against them.” I let the idea hang in the air, mostly to let it click in their dense heads. Seriously, ever since becoming Piraka, we all got extremely dense in a lot of ways, myself included. Thok suddenly jumped up. “You don't mean…. the Toa Seal? As in, the seal the Toa Metru used to seal Makuta Teridax? Is that even possible?” He asked, and the others all stared at me. “Like I said, it's just a theory. But that's enough talk for now. We need to return to the base before the Toa can find us.” I began to grab anything that could be used to track us that I could grab, and destroyed the rest. “How would they find us so quickly?” Avak asked, confused in his voice. I glanced back to see the others equally confused. I sighed. “If I remember correctly, Toa Inika Matoro’s mask power allowed him to become an invisible spirit. He could be in this room right now, listening to us. So we need to move. I'll probably change the plan later just in case. Now move!” I explained quickly, and they all jumped up, before grabbing what they could. As we left, we ran into the griffon we ‘put in charge’, Serrated Claw. “Ah, Boss! And other bosses. What's up?” He asked. “We are heading back to base. Celestia got some new bounty hunters possibly equal in our strength, and with a lot less morals than us. You might want to return to Griffonstone until we can get rid of them.” I explained quickly. His eyes hardened. “Aye, Boss. I'll put one of my boys in charge.” He replied. “No. One of them can read minds. Put a random employee in charge, and get everyone who knows about the organization out.” I warned, and he nodded, knowing better than to question me. He ran off, and we opened the secret exit. Climbing in last, I closed the door behind us, before using my laser vision to destroy the area around it. On the inside.