Dimensional Chronicles

"Where's the head? Ask them where my head is!" Twilight winced. Have you ever had something literally pushing on your consciousness? It feels weird, really, really, weird. Like your mind is a thick sheet of rubber, being stretched out as far as it can go.
Why should I? Twilight shot back, pushing back down on Teridax.
"I will leave you alone for a good week if you do." That would be nice, she really didn't like that rubbery feeling.
Fine, Twilight turned to Brutaka, the behemoth had sat down on the edge of a fountain positioned outside the council building. He held a rather large whetstone, grinding it along the edge of his massive blade.
"Excuse me, Brutaka?" Twilight tapped the titan on his shoulder, noticing the faint crisscrossing green lines on his armor. He looked up from his sword, scrutinizing her for moment.

"Dekal, take the others and show them around the city, please. We need to have a word with this one." Dekal brightened a little, motioning for the group to follow her. "Be sure to take Tanma with you." Dekal stiffened before looking over to the aforementioned matoran, who was currently refusing to speak with any of them. She looked back at Brutaka, throwing him a glace that clearly meant, 'do I have to?' Brutaka nodded slowly and Dekal gave a defeated sigh.
"Come on Tanma, don't wanna interrupt Brutaka's little talk, do you?" Tanma merely glared at her a moment before walking past her, towards the rest of the group. "Little muaka spike." Dekal muttered, walking past them. Brutaka waited until they had turned the corner of the council building before speaking again.

"Our Brother wishes to know what happened to him?" Brutaka smirked at Twilight's look of shock, placing his bow-like sword into the sheath slung over his back. "You reek of Teridax's antidermis, Twilight, something We've had more than a taste of. The only reason We have not stricken you down is that you appear to have him under control." Brutaka drew himself up to his full height, the green lines in his armor glowing a ghostly green, a sound like a thousand dying breaths filled the air around him. "Lose that control, and We will have no choice but to destroy you." Twilight felt an almost instinctual urge to stand her ground, a rather strange turn, but then again, new body, new rules.

Her left hand twitched, a lance of energy dancing between the talons, Brutaka chuckled.
"S-sorry," Twilight stammered, bringing the claw in close to her chest. "I'm still not used to this thing."
"Worry not, young one," Brutaka waved a hand dismissively. "Makuta are natural shapeshifters, one just starting out is bound to have trouble with each body's instincts for a while." Twilight cocked an eyebrow.
"But, I'm not a makuta." Brutaka nodded, reaching out to tap her between the eyes.
"True, but the being who has taken up residence in your head is, and as such, his powers are yours as yours are his."

"I want out, right now, you can't have my power." Twilight felt as if some great weight was slowly being lifted from her head. She looked up and saw Teridax's antidermis flowing off her head, the green smoke billowed and shifted, reaching further and further.
"He never did like to share." Brutaka muttered, drawing his blade. As the last of the smoke left Twilight's head it shuddered for a moment, changing from green to yellow and orange, as if it was on fire. Twilight heard a bloodcurdling scream, clamping her hands over her hears to try and block out the noise, she fell to her knees; it felt like someone had put burning coals in her skull. The screaming didn't even seem muffled and she realized it was in her head, which of course did little to stop it from burning in her skull.

Brutaka's face shifted from confusion at the change of color, to shock at the agony it seemed to be causing Twilight. The now flame-like antidermis flowed back into Twilight. The screaming stopped, but she could still feel him shuddering in her head. Twilight stood shakily, leaning on Brutaka's offered hand for support. "That's a rather powerful seal Miss. A bit excessive honestly."
"I-I didn't p-put it there." Twilight panted. "I don't think I've even heard of a seal that hurts that badly." She stood up, brushing herself off.
"What have you done to me?" Teridax weakly groaned at her.
I just said I didn't do that. Twilight brushed him off, shaking her head to make sure she was properly centered.

"Do you still wish to know what happened to him?" Brutaka gestured to the north, Twilight nodded. "In that case, I believe we should wait for the others. If that level of seal is necessary, I may not be able to deal with the result alone."
"Result?" Twilight cocked her head.

"Tell us Miss, if you found your own dead body, stricken down by your worst enemy, how would you react?" Twilight felt Teridax stir in the dark corners of her mind and shuddered. "Exactly. We can give you an overview of the abilities you will have access to while He resides in your body, while we wait for them." Twilight nodded vigorously, excited at the prospect.

Teridax felt himself slipping, falling through the formless mass of unconsciousness. It was odd, he felt so weak, that shouldn't happen. He was a gaseous cloud, he didn't have a physical being to tire out. What did it matter anyway? He had failed, at least, he thought he had, too many of his enemies were walking around unhindered for him not to have failed.
"Bah," he grunted weakly, "even if I did win, I'm stuck in here." It felt a little odd, thinking of himself as two separate beings. Victorious or not, the version of himself trapped in Sparkle's mind would have to move on to new prospects. Namely the comforting abyss below him.

He felt something grab a hold of him, it was cold, but strong, like a winter gale. At that moment his consciousness recovered enough from his encounter with his gatekeeper. Reminding him that this was a mindscape, he wasn't as illusive here.
"Come on Master," the voice was shallow and rasping, as if it had spent too long treating itself to Ma-Matoran pipe blends. "We have work to do." Teridax shook himself, allowing this new force to craft a world out out of the blackness.
"Lead the way." He coughed as he crafted himself an avatar for this dreamscape. He first appeared in the form he had taken on Metru-Nui, an old favorite of his. He looked down at his bulk. Familiarity is comforting, but with a new beginning deserves complete rejuvenation. He ran a finger over his massive chest plate, thinking for a moment before deciding on a few modifications.

He flattened out most of his bulk, shifting it from a massive body to sleek, dense plates down his arms and legs. His chest smoothed out till it resembled musculature instead of the bulbous swell of a rahkshi's back. He looked down at himself for a moment, flexing a two-thumbed hand before nodding, content with his new form. Looking up, he gasped at the world his new ally had crafted. A massive throne hall, carved from purest alabaster stone. Inscriptions lined the walls in the script of The Great Beings, it gleamed in the faint light streaming in through massive windows along the hall.

"I hope it is to your liking, Master." Its voice sounded behind him. Teridax turned, facing a creature clouded from view by jagged shadows, almost like torn cloth, that writhed and billowed in some unacknowledged wind. The creature's form was all but concealed by the shifting darkness. It was big, Teridax looked behind it, strike that, it was massive. Standing several feet taller than Teridax at it's shoulders, a little more if one counted the extra height given by its neck. Even at that height most of its mass was coiled around the hall behind it in serpentine coils. Two large arms sprouted from its shoulders, shadow trailing off its wicked claws as it gestured to the white throne. Its head was hard to place, as it seemed to wear the shadows like a hood, trailing back from between its eyes to pool around its neck and shoulders. Its eyes shone yellow under the cloak of darkness and its teeth, caught in a perpetual grin, gleamed like protosteel. Teridax found himself nodding in approval, he would have to make something based off of this creature.

Teridax stepped up to the throne, eyeing the inscription that rested above where his head would lie.
"And the Dark One became brighter than driven snow." He muttered, recognizing it at once, a prophesy he had poured over again and again in the five years he had spent planning under Odina. There were only five other beings that knew of it, two were far greater than he could ever hope to become, one was dead, one was the head of the Order of Mata Nui, and he had stolen the last one's body. He turned, casting a hard glare onto the shadowed creature that had crafted this. "Who are you?"

"I am the voice that woke you, that whispered to you when your host was in danger. I am the blade with which you lay low those that stand against you." The creature performed a sort of bow, bending over at about where its waist would be if it had legs.
"Shadō?" Teridax sat down in the throne, as the word left his lips Shadō's blackness seemed to blaze, whipping off of his body to pool in the air around him. "A living blade," Teridax chuckled, "surprised I never thought of that."

"The entirety of that prophesy, what is it?" Shadō asked, "when I created this room for us I was only able to find that piece." Teridax felt strength rush through his being as he thought of the words that had inspired him through a thousand years of war.
"A city unending, a world unchanging, and one said enough. The sky went dark, the Great One falling into slumber unending as the Master of Shadow took his place. And shadow led the way, leading to the revival of the Great One, and the Dark One became brighter than driven snow under the suns." The light in Teridax's eyes blazed as he spoke, conviction radiating off his form as Shadō slithered up around the throne, resting his head atop the slab that was its back. "But, with one destiny fulfilled, another must take its place."

Teridax went silent for a moment, listening to the world around him. He could feel it, the thick wall between him and his host, he could not take control but this wall prevented little else. He reached out, grabbing hold of Twilight's memories. "New world, new conquest." Her memories manifested as a large tome, "fitting," he chuckled. Flipping open the book, he began to pour over the machinations of his new world, muttering to himself as he did. "Griffons, Buffalo, Zebra, Dragons, four opposing philosophies, useful. Surprisingly accustomed to killing for an herbivorous species, interesting." He brushed off a page, flipping to her knowledge of the predatory species. "Hydra, Manticore, Dragon again, Cockatrice especially insidious, Timberwolf. That would explain it."

He turned to the foes that she had faced. "Nighmare, pathetic, fueled by childish need. Discord, impressive, such a shame to see such wasted potential, but at least he's happy with it. Chrysalis, almost adorable, wishes for what she cannot have." Teridax fell silent for a moment, seeming to almost deflate before snapping himself back to attention. "Sombra, absolutely incompetent," he snarls a little. "A disgrace to the power of shadow and the ruling class alike. I'm going into a place where darkness has already had its image squandered by this fool." He tapped the side of his mask. "I'm not even there yet and I already have to deal with pr. problems." With that he set to planning, using all the knowledge of his host's mind to craft the tool that would take apart Equestria from within.

"Are you suggesting, Vakama, that we simply forget the crimes their kind has committed?" Onewa scowled, slamming his hammer into the table. The council was made up of seven turaga. Onewa, a po-turaga, stood on the end of the table opposite Vakama. He had sand brown armor and a mask that gave him the appearance of having an almost square jawline.

Standing with him was Whenua, a onu-turaga, his rounded brow creased with worry. His armor and mask were jet black, his mask rounded until the top and bottom, where it almost appeared that the oval had been cut. He carried a drill, spinning it up out of nervous habit. Dume, another ta-turaga, stood on Onewa's other side. From a narrow mouth his mask fanned out over the rest of his head. He stared at Vakama in an almost calculating manner, he didn't know the younger turaga to be so adamant about any cause as lost as this one.

Standing with Vakama was Nokama, a ga-turaga, her face set and determined. Her armor was a light blue, her mask a near perfect oval. She carried a trident, its blades set in the stone at her feet. Nuju, a ko-turaga, stood silently on his other side, his face impassive. His armor was an almost white grey, his mask was almost square. He carried an icepick, his hand slowly tightening and relaxing around it the only sign he gave of the severity of the discussion.

Standing between the two groups was the le-turaga Matau. Standing in a rare moment of stillness, his normally cheerful disposition marred by the look of turmoil on his face. His armor was green, his mask almost bean shaped. He carried a saw, which was quietly whirring as he thought. He had yet to speak in this meeting, simply listening and thinking. All seven of them wore vests decorated with sown-in motifs of their element.

"Far be it for me," Onewa continued, "to say that personal confusion isn't an excuse to cause destruction. I did my share of that as a hordika. But I don't care if your theory is true, even if it is, there must have been a good reason for it." He looked to Nuju. "Yes we must look to the future, but not at the expense of lessons learned in the past." He gestured to Whenua, who spoke next.

"Even before their 'fall', as Vakama puts it, they were a vicious race, all but eager to kill. It is in their nature to be excessively violent, as well as to see to their own safety before others. They were hard enough to deal with the first time, why would we bring them back now that the toa are spread so thin?"

"Teridax's original plan was far more covert than any of you give it credit for." Dume spoke up. "He was meticulous to the point of near psychosis, it's entirely possible that the pool's re-activation is simply a back up plan, to keep himself alive if all else failed."
"Why didn't we quick-find makuta when the Morbuzakh spread through Metru Nui?" Matau spoke without looking up, drawing everyone's attention. "He swore to safe-guard the city, why didn't we ask for his help?"

"Because we didn't nee-" Onewa started, only for Matau to cut him off.
"No, there were plenty of times when we bad-wanted help. If we had gone-found him, we might have been able to out-find that he had quick-switched with Dume." He looked up. "We could have quick-dodged so much kane-ra dung if we had just gone to him. If anyone had gone to him for help, his whole plan would shatter-break. Why didn't we?"

"I-" Dume started, only for Matau to interrupt again.
"During the Dark Hunter War, he was hand-given the entire east-end to protect. Alone." Dume cocked an eyebrow at him.
"And how would you know that?"
"Le-Metru right next to the east-end. We never sight-saw another being protecting it. Why was he given that karzahni-job alone? How did he manage to protect every-all of us without losing any? Against a mass-army no less. When I deep-think about it, Teridax should have been our hero." The group flinched slightly at the name, Matau looked at Vakama and his group. "Why wasn't he?"

"We don't know." Nokama stepped forward, "none of us know." Onewa opened his mouth, but Nokama waved him away to let Matau finish thinking. There was silence for a moment before Matau spoke again.
"I was terror-scared of him." He looked over to Dume. "We all were, and still are, dead-fright of him. Because he kill-fought for us. He was like some-kind destroyer, there was no limit to what he could do. And it scared us." He walked over to Vakama's group. "But that was no reason to deliberately ignore him. To away-exile him, or any of the others. I'm with Vakama, this was our bad-doing. We need to set-right."

Onewa turned to leave, groaning loudly.
"Four against three," Dume said bitterly. "Then it is settled, I will find Brutaka and tell him to begin preparations immediately."
"Wait," Vakama held up a hand. "Onewa, there is still one more matter to discuss. Tanma has brought a group of travelers to my attention." The rest of the turaga took back up their spots, standing in a circle around the table.
"So?" Onewa reluctantly went back to his spot.
"They are from another plain of existence, one that is in desperate need of help."

"Why did this have to wait until after the pool that isn't going anywhere?" Onewa grumbled.
"Because they currently have two makuta doing their best to hold back the end of their world."
"What?" Dume shouted, "first Brutaka returns from the grave, and now there are two more that Teridax missed. How is it that with two makuta they still need help?"
"The enemy is apparently powerful enough to rival them and on a mission of genocide. They already have the support of The Order, who are sending Brutaka and Axxon, but I believe we should send the Toa Nuva as well, just in case."

"Lewa has been restless-itching for something important to do." Matau nodded, "I suppose we could spare him."
"Wait, with the pool being reactivated, how can we justify sending toa?" Whenua asked.
"You forget, brother, that without Brutaka here we cannot begin resurrecting them." Nokama said. "Gali has become a bit of a shut in lately, I'm sure something like this will do her good."
Nuju nodded his approval.
"I would refuse, but as soon as Pohatu hears about it, he'll be gone." Onewa grumbled.
"And if Pohatu goes, so will Onua." Whenua nodded. "There is little I could do to stop him."
"Then it is settled." Dume sighed, turning to leave. "No good can come of this." He muttered as he left the room.