Chapter 2
Bratik also took to the chutes and headed for the armory. He liked the feeling of the magnetized protodermis flowing around him and propelling him at high speeds. He hitched a ride on a crate and thought. He thought about Gaaku and Lekk. He wanted to find a toa stone like they had. Being a matoran would have to do for now though. After all, he had everything a warrior could possibly want. He unsheathed his sword and looked at his reflection. In the background, he saw a red glint briefly on one of the support rings.
"I have got to be daydreaming. If my eyes aren't playing tricks on me, that looked like it could be a toa stone" he thought to himself. "That had to be an illusion. I would be crazy to go back."
Still, subconscious curiosity drove him to leave the crate and fight the current, which was nearly futile. Slowly he made his way towards the spot. The magnetized protodermis was not so welcome now.
"I wonder if the others had to do something like...this to get their....toa stones. If its...unhh...even a toa stone!" the Ta-Matoran said. "If it's not...I'm..."
Suddenly, a large crate hit him square in the face. Bratik, dazed, reached out a hand to steady himself. He found nothing. Bratik hurtled through the chutes and tried to regain control. He reached out again for balance and unexpectedly found himself grasping another matoran's hand. He looked up through hazy vision to see Gami hauling him into her chute speeder. As he recovered his composure, he motioned for Gami to stop and pull out of the chute at the next possible moment. The chute was entirely enclosed at this point, but after a few minutes, Gami slowed down and piloted the craft to the surface of the now open-roofed chute. She then steered over to the side where the chute speeder magnetically attached to the side of the chute, keeping the vehicle immobile.
"Thanks. Who knows how long I would have been sprawled out in the chutes if it weren't for you. I can't waste another moment though, thanks again" Bratik said rapidly as he ran back the way he came.
"Bye" Gami called out after him, slightly confused.
***
Kovorix finished speaking his instructions to Gaaku and leapt into the chutes again in aqua mode. He headed for the armory where he was sure to find Bratik. As Kovorix arrived at the armory, he reflected on it's construction. The seemingly small building housed about ten sub-level stories of storage rooms, weapons crafter workshops and meeting rooms. The armory was still being constructed when he had returned from his journeys. Still, at that point it was only a hole in the ground a few stories deep. Once it had reached the desired depth, a mold was developed for each floor and molten protodermis was poured into the perfect molds. When the molds were destroyed, what was left was a perfectly geometrical floor with a hall and rows of doors on either side leading to rooms. The walls were perfectly formed because of the mold method and more importantly, was incredibly hard. When it reached the ground level, the armory were developed into a small fort with very defendable walls around the main building.
Artakha had originally planned on having the armory as a place for the crafters to make weapons and armor for the equipment of the matoran and other Artakhan inhabitants in the case of another invasion, despite the fact that anyone who knew of the island's location had apparently been eliminated. "Apparently" wasn't good enough for Artakha. He would do everything that he could to make sure that another invasion, if ever it came again, would be stopped. Eventually, the Artakhan guard was formed and at one point in every Artakhan Matoran's time on Artakha, they would serve time in the guard. In this way, everyone on the island had become trained warriors and were ready for action if a battle ever came. The Armory was the obvious choice for the headquarters of the Artahkan guard.
Kovorix descended to the lower levels of the Armory and entered the barracks hall. As he walked down the hall, passing each of the living quarters, he saw one of the thick metal doors open and a small rahi walked out. At first look, the rahi looked like some kind of pet but a closer look revealed that this rahi did not belong. Suddenly, the rahi attacked ferociously and knocked one of the guards down, as he ran straight for Kovorix. Kovorix didn't have time to pull out his blades so he launched a blast of ice at the creature. Without even breaking it's stride, the dog-like rahi launched two energy bolts from its chest. The first one neutralized the ice, shattering it everywhere. The second bolt came through the haze and hit Kovorix straight in the chest plate with massive force. Everything went dark and he collapsed onto the ground sensing shadows of matoran hurriedly move to counter the threat. Then there was nothing.
To be Continued...
