Aridike's Tale Ch. 13-15

The two let the night leave on that bombshell and got some sleep. In the early hours of the morning, they set off once again for Hrunek's fortress. After a few hours, of which the two ran silently,  they saw a structure on the horizon, and slowed to keep their presence unknown.

They took measure of the citadel of the new Knights: it was a large, domed structure, maybe 20ft tall and 40ft around, made from thick slabs of beige stone. There were only four entrances that they could see; four large, metal doors on the sides of the dome. Aridike and Bayzon began the execution of their plan.

Aridike walked up to the closest door and knocked a few times, making a great clang each time. With no answer, he used his gravity powers and tore the door from its hinges, flinging it behind him.  With his Gravity Disk now in hand, he entered Hrunek's hideout. Bayzon followed suit under a cloaking field with his light powers.

Surprisingly, there were no guards.  There was only a long corridor that was also made from the beige stone.  With no obstructions in sight, the two walked into the depths of the fortress.   

Eventually, they were forced to go down an elevator into a lower level of the base.  Still, there was no defense systems, no guards, no hint that anyone was even there. The two became suspicious, but kept onward.  Then they found him: Hrunek.

He sat upon a large throne centered in a large room with but one single shaft of light coming down from a skylight on the ceiling. He stood a large, bulky Toa of Stone, wielding shining, spiked arm-blades for the inevitable battle. As Aridike entered, he stood from his throne on mechanical legs.  

"BARON…It has been some time. Indeed, some time indeed… But I never forgot you."

He walked from his throne, taking some meandering steps around it.

"As I'm sure you can see, the little fall you caused…handicapped me."

His hands gestured to his lower body of metal.

"But now, I guess you could say we have something in common!"

As he said this, Hrunek stomped with his motorized legs, causing a deep indent in the floor as his voice reached a crescendo through his gritted teeth.

Aridike kept his composure and charismatic wit:

"Well, well, well…That's a bit unexpected there…DUKE."

"Don't call me that!"

Hrunek began to rant with wild gestures:

"I am in control here! Not you! ME! I am the leader of the Knights! I AM THE KING!"

Hrunek charged at Aridike, igniting the tension in a bursting flame.

CHAPTER 14:

The two rivals began to duel, Aridike on the defensive for the most part, and Hrunek on a rampaging offense.  His mechanical legs gave him surprising agility and speed, and with the help from his Kanohi Kakama, it was all Aridike could do but to counter his attacks, taking a few hits.

Slightly battered, and now ready to use his full powers, Aridike reached out his robotic hand and tightly grabbed Hrunek's head in his large hand. Surprised at this, Hrunek tried desperately to free himself, but before he could, Aridike took him and flung him off against the wall, leaving a deep impression there.

Hrunek fell from the wall onto the ground and got shakily to his feet.  He roared as he used his stone powers to heave a large stone from the wall and fling it at Aridike, who was a bit worn from Hrunek's prior attack.

"Now, Bayzon!"

As they had thought, Hrunek was using the fortress itself to his advantage, but Bayzon, still cloaked, knew what to do. He whipped out his light chain and hooked it around the boulder, pivoting it's momentum, and swung it right back at the surprised Hrunek.

Hrunek only had just enough time to use his powers to split the boulder before it smashed into him.  Aridike used this to his advantage by jumping directly behind the boulder, and as Hrunek split it, he was poised and ready to smash his fist into Hrunek's face, with enough momentum to crush a Makuta. Bayzon screamed in protest.

And then it all stopped. Aridike, Bayzon, Hrunek, the very air itself, stopped. Bayzon, with his mouth still open, Hrunek with his face still in surprise, and Aridike, poised to strike, with a ferocious snarl on his face. Then Aridike, still frozen in air with his punch in mid-swing, thawed out of time.  

CHAPTER 15:

He dropped to the floor, suddenly, losing all of his previous momentum. Aridike stood a while in surprise. The world was now bathed in a black and white cast, with no color, apart from he and his armor. Then Aridike saw them.

Standing a few yards away were two figures; one was cloaked in black, the other bore shining silver armor and an impressive staff.  But it was their masks that scared Aridike. They both wore his mask.

Aridike yelled to them.

"Who are you! …Are you-?"

The cloaked one cut him off in a deep, throaty and gruff version of Aridike's own voice.

"YOU?! Yes…you could very well say that."

The shining one put a word in edgewise with a cooler, soft and yet authoritative mix of Aridike's voice.

"Now, Seven, don't be so harsh." He turned and took a step to Aridike. "Allow me to explain. It's a bit…complicated.  To begin, yes, we are you, or rather, separate Temporal Versions of you.

"You see, there is a point in history where you, as you may have already guessed, travel through time to create the paradox that starts this whole business of Toa-hood. The thing about this paradox, however, is that it causes a fracture in the time stream, at least yours, and, well, I won't get into details, but, the end results are that of hundreds of parallel, symmetric versions of you that all have slight attitude, moral, physical or mental changes, but with the same past. These altercations all produce similar, and yet completely different, and infinite parallel timelines in which you take on different forms, duties, and roles in the way the Multiverse works.

"I am the Fourth in the League of Labeled Aridikes and he-"

The gruff one interrupted with a strange look of scorn, "I am the Seventh."

"My timeline involved me choosing the side of good in the fight against evil."

"And mine involved me in the conquering of several galaxies with an iron fist, literally ."

The Fourth sighed, then turned back to Aridike.

"You are the Two Hundred Twenty-Ninth Aridike. Our job here is to help you at this decisive point in history as to which path you chose.  Be that of Good-"

"-or that of Evil," the Seventh concluded.

"Or none of the above..." This new voice shocked the group.