Federation of Fear

Well, posting Dark Mirror gave me some ideas. Why not post the whole thing? Well, the idea stuck and I'm going with it. First, with Federation of Fear.

Federation of Fear

Chapter 1
Vezon opened his eyes, astonished to still be alive. The last thing he remembered, he was surrounded by Zyglak, who seemed immune to his wit and charm. Then there was a flash, the sensation of being grabbed by someone far stronger than he, a weird sensation of travel, and darkness.

He looked around. The room he occupied was a large cell and he wasn’t in it alone. Vezon didn’t recognize any of the other four occupants, all of whom stood well away from the others. By reflex, he started calculating how long it would take to disable them and how quickly he could pick the lock of the cell door.

Vezon's musings were interrupted by the appearance of a sixth figure outside the cell. He was tall, lean and strong, wore a domed helmet, and carried a wicked double-bladed sword. The newcomer looked over the five prisoners as if they were cargo-hauling Ussal crabs up for auction.

"My name is Brutaka," the visitor said. "I know you have questions - I’m not here to answer them. Where you are, who I work for, what this place is - you don’t need to know. What you do need to know is that there are two, and only two, ways you can get out of here."

A Xian female stepped up to the bars and said in a dangerously soft voice, "And they are?"

"You can walk out, Roodaka, under your own power, and carry out a mission for some friends of mine," Brutaka replied. "Or I can carry you out, plant you in a hole outside, and we’ll see if anything grows."

Brutaka turned his attention to the others. "All of you have something in common – you have all had dealings with the Brotherhood of Makuta. Roodaka, here, betrayed them to the Dark Hunters, then betrayed the Dark Hunters as well – now both sides want her dead. Takadox and Carapar over there are Barraki, whose armies were crushed 80,000 years ago by the Brotherhood. The Makuta in the corner is Spiriah, who fouled up an experiment on the island of Zakaz so badly that his own people marked him for death."

Vezon timidly raised a hand. "Excuse me, oh brutal, blade-wielding, lover of gardening. I have never met any Makuta face to mask and wouldn’t know one if he stepped on me and ground me into the dirt. I think maybe you wanted someone else ... I’m Vezon with an 'n,' you see, not Vezok with a 'k,' and --"

The crab-like Carapar loped over, picked up Vezon by the neck, and bounced him off the back wall. "You talk too much," the Barraki growled.

"Oh, yes," Brutaka muttered, shaking his head. "This is going to work out just fine."

Chapter 2
Roodaka was furious. As she walked along the waterfront, clad in a cloak made of plant fibre, she imagined over and over again all the disgusting things she would someday turn Brutaka into with her Rhotuka spinner. One way or the other, he was going to pay for this.

Brutaka and his team – Roodaka, Vezon, Carapar, Takadox, and Makuta Spiriah – had arrived on the shores of the island of Stelt in a small boat. As soon as Roodaka recognized the skyline, she began to protest. Stelt was the home of the late Sidorak, her former comrade, and his people. Worse, Roodaka had set Sidorak up to be killed, and it was likely everyone on Stelt knew that. She would be about as welcome there as a Kikanalo stampede.

But Brutaka had insisted they would need a bigger boat to get where they were going, and this was the easiest place to get one. The only other team member to voice an objection was Spiriah, who believed Brotherhood of Makuta agents were waiting in every village to grab him.

"And just how are we going to purchase this boat?" Roodaka hissed. "We have no equipment, no arms other than yours, not even those ridiculous Matoran widgets. We have nothing of value to offer in exchange."

"Of course we do," Brutaka answered, as he pushed open the doors of a trading house. "We have you."

No sooner were the words out of his mouth than Carapar had seized her from behind. The team, along with the struggling Roodaka, stepped inside the dimly lit and foul smelling shack. The proprietor was one of Sidorak's species.

"We're here to make a purchase," said Brutaka. "Your fastest ship, outfitted with supplies for a long voyage to the south."

"To the south?" snorted the trader. "Meaning I will never see my ship, or you, again? Unless you can make me rich --"

Brutaka took the hood off Roodaka, who glared at him with murder in her eyes. "Would the reward you’ll get for capturing the killer of Sidorak be payment enough?"

The trader smiled and invited the party out to view his prize craft. So excited was he by visions of the wealth that would soon be his that he never noticed Takadox had slipped away. The boat turned out to be good-sized, well armed with disk launchers, and large enough to accommodate at least a dozen beings. A crew of large, blue and gray armored bruisers were at work on it now.

"We'll take it," said Brutaka. There was a loud splash from the ocean side of the ship, but no one paid much mind to it.

"And I'll take the murderer," the trader said. "Sidorak was no prize, but we can't let Vortixx and Rahi kill our kind and get away with it, now can we?"

There was another splash, then another, and another. Brutaka ignored them. "Of course not. But if you want people to believe you caught this dangerous criminal, you will need to look like you've been in a fight. A light tap to your head would do the trick, perhaps. My colleague, Vezon, can handle it – you won't feel a thing."

"Ever again," Vezon chimed in, smiling.

Splash. Splash. Splash.

The trader looked over Vezon, who was nowhere near as physically imposing as the rest of the team. How much damage could he do? "All right," said the trader. "One blow – a light one! – just to look convincing."

Vezon's grin grew wider. Roodaka struggled against Carapar’s grip. Brutaka walked casually away from the scene, surveying the boat. Vezon drew his fist back. Then, in one smooth motion, Brutaka whirled and whacked the trader in the back of the head. The trader crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

"Hey!" said Vezon. "He was mine! I woudn't have hurt him ... much ... and I only would have needed three or four hours and the right tools, just to make sure he would be no trouble."

"That's the point," Brutaka replied. "You enjoy your work a little too much. Now everyone on board – that includes you, Roodaka."

They climbed on the ship to find Takadox standing alone. The Barraki took a little bow, pointed to his hypnotic eyes, and said, "The crew decided to go for a swim, all at once. Imagine that."

"Why all the trouble?" muttered Carapar. "We could have just stormed in and stolen the ship."

"And had all of Stelt after us?" asked Brutaka. "Not to mention every Dark Hunter and Brotherhood member around, as soon as they heard Roodaka was here?"

"But what about the trader, you fool?" said Roodaka. "He saw me!"

Brutaka laughed as the ship moved slowly away from shore. "Who's going to believe anyone stupid enough to stand still and get hit?"

Chapter 3
Brutaka and his bizarre crew had been at sea for three days when he called them all together. "It's time to let you know our mission. And before you ask, you were all chosen for this trip for one very good reason: You're expendable. No one is going to care if any of you live or die, which makes you ideal for this job."

Carapar grumbled something unspeakably foul. Brutaka chose to ignore it.

"We are going to an island far south of anything on any chart," Brutaka continued. "But it's not uninhabited. In fact, it has one very special resident: a Makuta named Miserix."

Now it was Spiriah's turn to mutter something, though his words were more in shock than in anger.

"Miserix, for those of you who don't know, was the leader of the Brotherhood of Makuta before the current holder of that title," said Brutaka. "He was overthrown and wound up imprisoned on a volcanic island. He's guarded by Rahi and the Great Beings know what else – things someone figured would be able to kill an escaping Makuta. And it's our job to break him out."

At first, none of the team members said anything. Then Takadox spoke up. "And what do we get out of this? Money? Power? Our freedom?"

Brutaka smiled. "You get to live another day."

"And what do we do with him after we have him?" asked Roodaka. "Hold him for ransom?"

"That's not your concern," Brutaka replied. "All of you have a role to play in this mission. When we get close to the island, you will be given weapons and equipment. Try to run, at any time, and friends of mine will hunt you down – friends who make me look like a big, cuddly Ussal crab."

It was Vezon who spotted them first. A small fleet of ragtag vessels was approaching from the west. They were about the ugliest boats one could imagine, slapped together from remnants and wreckage and barely sea-worthy. But he wasn’t focused on the look of the ships, but rather the identity of their crews.

"Zyglak!" he shouted.

The others rushed to the rail to look. Sure enough, the reptilian beings known as "the Great Beings' mistakes" were manning the ships. Notoriously violent and destructive, Zyglak hated the Great Spirit Mata Nui and anything associated with him. It was doubtful they were paying a social call.

Brutaka tried to steer the ship away from them, but the wind and waves were not cooperating. After a few minutes, he realized why: Makuta Spiriah was using his power over weather to keep the ship in place.

"Did you really think it would be this easy?" said Spiriah. "I deduced our goal days ago and passed a message to my Zyglak friends through channels on Stelt."

Vezon looked horrified. He had spent many days a captive of the Zyglak not so long ago. It wasn't an experience he was anxious to repeat. "Friends? Zyglak don’t have friends... just meals they haven’t eaten yet."

"They are outcasts," said Spiriah. “And so am I. Now, Brutaka, I am taking command of this ship. We will be setting a new course, for the island of Zakaz. It was there that I met defeat and disgrace – there that my grand experiment failed, because the inhabitants were too savage to know what to do with my gifts. It is their fault I was cast out of the Brotherhood – and now they are going to pay!"

Chapter 4
It had been three days since Spiriah's takeover of the team’s vessel. Since then, they had steered a course for the island of Zakaz, surrounded on every size by boats filled with murderous Zyglak. Spiriah had been acting every inch the captain of the ship, ordering the others about and being particularly hard on Brutaka. Through it all, Brutaka said nothing and made no attempt to strike at Spiriah.

"To think, we were beginning to feel a little afraid of him," Takadox said, gesturing toward Brutaka.

"Speak for yourself," Carapar replied.

"Home," beamed Vezon. "True, I’ve never been to Zakaz... I'm not even really one of the native species... in fact, they'll probably kill me on sight... or worse, tie me upside down over a spiked dagger plant... but at least I'll die at home."

Roodaka had abandoned any hope that Brutaka was going to act and concentrated instead on Spiriah. "The Brotherhood has overextended itself in recent years," she assured him. "Warring with Dark Hunters and Toa... they are weak. If you struck at them now with your army, you could take over Destral and rule the universe. Of course, you would need someone by your side who knows all the factions and how best to use them..."

Spiriah looked at her as if she were something stuck to his boot. "I would sooner offer my neck to a dull axe blade than trust you, female. Your name has become another word for 'treachery.'"

"Better that than being another word for 'failure,'" Roodaka muttered.

The conversation was ended by the appearance of land off the port bow. It was the island of Zakaz, in all its ruined "glory." A handful of Dark Hunter vessels could be seen in the waters nearby, on patrol. At a word from Spiriah, the Zyglak vessels attacked. Taken by surprise, three of the Dark Hunter ships were sunk immediately. The others beached on the shores of the island, only for the crews to be slain by a mob of Skakdi natives.

Spiriah laughed at the sight. "The Skakdi believe they know what savagery is," he said. "But they have never met the Zyglak. And the Makuta believe they know all the colors and shapes of revenge... but I will introduce them to a shade darker than even they could imagine."

The mini-armada surged forward, Zyglak already preparing to storm the beaches. They were still 500 yards from shore when the first Zyglak ship suddenly lurched and began to sink. This was followed by another and still another. Soon, Zyglak vessels on every side were taking on water, gaping holes torn in their hulls below the water line.

Takadox rushed to the rail. He caught a glimpse of beings just under the water, attacking the Zyglak craft. From a distance, they almost looked like his old ally, Ehlek. Whatever they were, they moved like fish underwater and the ships were no match for their claws.

Shocked by the abrupt annihilation of his force, Spiriah was unprepared for Brutaka's attack. An energy blast knocked him off his feet, a well-placed kick kept him on the ground, and then Brutaka’s blade was pressed against his chest armor.

"Go ahead," Brutaka said, coldly. "Use one of your powers. Think you can do it before I rip open your armor? And how long do you think your energy will last out here, with no body to occupy? Or maybe I should just throw you overboard right now."

"How... ?" Spiriah began.

"How did I deal with the Zyglak?" said Brutaka. "Simple. You have friends; so do I. Mine are an species of water dwellers who were specially modified by my employers to kill Makuta. They live off the coast of Zakaz, and right now they are practicing their skills on your Zyglak. You don't want to look... it's messy."

"Wait a minute," said Takadox. "Not that I am complaining, but how did you manage to get in touch with these 'friends' of yours? You never left the ship.”

Brutaka hauled Spiriah to his feet. All around, the ocean was littered with wrecked ships and dead Zyglak. "Spiriah had his friends following us. And I had someone following us since we left Stelt, just in case of emergency... and here she comes now."

The others turned to see a small skiff approaching from the east. Its lone pilot was a female, lithe and well-armed. As she came alongside and clambered above the ship, Roodaka noticed that her left arm was completely mechanical. For a moment, she almost felt sorry for Spiriah.

"This is the last member of our team," said Brutaka. "Treat her as you would me... and be sure she will treat you even worse than I do. Her name's Lariska."

Chapter 5
Lariska stood at the bow with Brutaka, watching the ship cleave through the water. Behind them, the other members of the team were keeping a careful eye on Makuta Spiriah - not that they could have done much to stop him if he tried to make a break. But Brutaka had done a little math and explained to Spiriah how many hours he was likely to survive once the Brotherhood of Makuta knew where he was. Then he assured Spiriah that if the ship and its occupants were all destroyed, the Brotherhood would be notified immediately where to start looking.

That was a bluff, of course. But Spiriah had spent a lot of his life fleeing from his former comrades, and running and hiding get to be habits after a while. As Brutaka expected, Spiriah bought it and backed off.

The ship had veered away from Zakaz and was on its way south. There was one more stop to make before they headed for their ultimate target. This was the one Brutaka dreaded – it was time to arm the team.

The island that came into view was little more than a piece of barren rock. It was not the original site for this meeting, but plans had changed. Two Order of Mata Nui members, Botar and the nine-foot tall warrior named Trinuma, had been dispatched with a cache of weapons for a rendezvous on a small, wooded island just off the mainland. But a Makuta named Icarax had spotted their appearance and attacked. The fight was furious, but brief. Botar was slain, crushed by the Makuta's magnetic power, and Trinuma barely escaped to tell the tale. In desperation, he stored the weapons at the first place he came to before returning to Daxia with the tragic news.

The ship dropped anchor just off the coast. Brutaka warned Takadox and Carapar he would be keeping a careful eye on them on the swim over, just in case they got any funny ideas about diving deep and escaping. Vezon was the first to react when they set foot on the rocky shore.

"There is something... wrong here," he said, his tone unusually serious. "Something beyond even my powers to cope with."

"You don't have any powers, freak," Carapar roughly reminded him.

"I don't?" Vezon said, seemingly confused. "Where was I when they were being handed out? Let me see... Makuta's lair... Voya Nui... tunnels... prison... how could I have missed the meeting, I was always where the action was."

"Quiet," said Lariska, dagger drawn. "There is one true statement in your babble. There is something not right in this place."

Brutaka approached, carrying the weapons. Takadox took a long, thin blade, while Carapar grabbed a broadsword. Roodaka pounced on a Rhotuka launcher. Brutaka handed Spiriah a projectile weapon and warned him with a cold smile not to point it at himself... or anyone else. Vezon got a spear, which he turned over in his hands with no real enthusiasm.

"What's it do?" he asked.

"Nothing," Brutaka answered. "But with your powers, you don't need it, right?"

Vezon brightened. "Right," he agreed, having forgotten once again that he had no powers. Carapar growled in frustration and stalked away.

"We have what we came for," Takadox said nervously. "Let's go."

"There's something in that cave up ahead," said Lariska. "I can hear what sounds like breathing, but it's a... wet sound, as if the being were inhaling through mud. And there's something else... it almost sounds like... something slithering."

Spiriah took a step back. "I know where we are," he said, his eyes darting from side to side as if expecting an attack. "Mutran told me of this place, though it didn't look like this ages ago. We have to go. We have to go now!"

But it was already too late. Vast walls of rock suddenly sprang up from the shore line, forming a 200-foot high wall around the island and cutting the team off from their boat. "Blast it down," Brutaka ordered. But even the power of his blade was not enough to penetrate the stone.

Spiriah had shapeshifted himself some wings and was trying to fly over the top. A sharp spear of stone erupted out of the top of the wall and impaled one of his wings, sending him spiraling toward the ground. Lariska ran, leapt, hit the wall feet first, and propelled herself into mid-air to catch the falling Makuta.

There was no time to marvel at her athletic feat or make other attempts to escape. For now a voice was coming from the cave, but not a voice like anyone present had ever heard before. It sounded like the slimy, repulsive sound that comes when a nest of feeder worms is disturbed. Even Brutaka had to suppress a shudder.

"Visitors," said the voice. "At last."

"Who are you?" said Brutaka. "Did you imprison us here? I warn you, you don't know the power you face."

A massive tentacle shot out of the cave, wrapping itself around Brutaka and pulling him inside. The next moment, he was in the presence of something so horrible, so alien, that it took all his willpower just to hold on to his sanity.

"Now," said the entity that held him in its grip. "Now tell Tren Krom of your power."