Hā Teka

[Kopaka]

Long had I slumbered.

Through the myriad eons, visions came to me.

All of them told of a great being, named Mata Nui. A name that, for some reason, felt comforting and familiar. Had I heard it before?

The dreams told of a great quest to restore Mata Nui to power. That I was to embark on a great quest with my five siblings.

But then a new dream came. A strange, white figure who had no mask, nor did he have protodermis on his body. The strange being informed me of a world unknown, a new realm in which I could not die, and whatever I wished could be reality.

But what does a champion of duty have to wish for, other than a job well done?

In time, the dream faded, and I slept for some time longer. After an indiscernable length of time, I felt a change in my prison. There came a large jolt, and the sound of creaking metal and clanging scrap filled my ears. All at once, my prison, my Toa Canister, opened with an explosive report. I was hurled out into a blinding whiteness, fragmented, and broken. I did not remember having been disssembled. There had been no foretelling of this in my slumber.

Regardless, I set about putting my separated body back together, piece by piece. An arm connected here, a neck joint interlocked there. Procedural. Instinctual. Once my body was able to stand, I rose to my feet and grabbed my Kanohi Akaku, my mask, to my face. As it latched into place, my body was wracked with elemental force. What before had been dull grey metal was no a bright, shining white. My ice sword hummed to life, instantly frosting over. As the waves of power subsided, I took stock of my situation.

Nothing but a blank eternity surrounded me. Where did this play into my destiny? Pivoting on my foot, I turned to behold a large, crystalline structure, hundreds of feet tall. The sharp, bleak spires spilled water over the glistening ice in gentle falls, and the liquid pooled in a small basin at the foot. Truly a splendid sight, but it did little inform me on the situation.

Suddenly, a flash of movement was refracted through the ice. I was not alone. Much had been forgotten in my sleep, but one thing I did know; the Toa of Ice saw all. Driving the double tip of my sword into the soaring spire of ice, I willed the frozen substance to lash out, and ensnare my would-be stalker. As the ice bent to my command, there came a hoarse shout as this mystery being was ensnared in a sudden burst of ice.

With cautious strides, I rounded the fountain and examined my quarry. A bizarre creature, to say the least. Again, he lacked any sort of mask, and his body was largely pliable, and soft. He did appear to be wearing some form of protodermis armor, however, and I designated him a warrior.

A trapped warrior.

"Uhh...Hail, Prime! Camelot welcomes you to the Omniverse!" the warrior said, beginning to shiver.

"Camelot?" I ask.

"Y-yes! Greatesr kingdom in the Omniverse. We would be honored to have you as our guest!" the warrior creature stammered.

...Camelot? Omniverse? This place was not Mata Nui? This troubled me for many reasons.

"I do not require your hospitality, however..." I said, giving the ice that gripped him a gentle tap. With a loud crackling sound, the ice receded back into the pillar.

"I do require information. If I follow you, will I be informed of my situation?"

The warrior nodded and warmed himself briefly before gesturing towards a distant gate of some sort.

"Of course! We will be happy to help you on your way within the Ommiverse!" the warrior said, beaming. Again, this word. Omniverse. It unsettled me, but I would not run from my discomfort. Wordlessly I began my sojourn towards the forlorn aperture. The warrior creature followed in my wake, and in this way, we traveled in silence...

[Kopaka]

Kopaka emerged from the steaming gate of the Tangled Green back into the blissful pallor of the Nexus. Though this blank area was really neither warm nor cold, it was certainly better than the thick heat of the jungle through which he had just trekked. Mud and bits of crushed foliage clung to his metallic feet, and as he walked towards the center of the Nexus, he left a muddy trail for almost an entire mile. Not that he was particularly annoyed by this, but in the even that someone decided to track him, it would make it rather easy.

The Toa of Ice walked with impunity through the blank land, constantly scanning the horizon for any threats. It seems others like him were milling around the Fountain of Infinity, but this would not deter the Toa. He had never feared death before, and now with the promise of perpetuated resurrection, there was absolutely no reason for fear...

...not that Kopaka intended on entirely throwing caution to the wind, no. He was far too intelligent to allow himself to descend to that type of nonsensical behavior. Still, as he approached the towering spire of ice, his pace quickened somewhat, as he found himself quite eager to draw power from its chilled surface. Upon reaching the foot of the sculpture, Kopaka spiked the tips of his sword into the soft ice, and a white light began to draw itself in large circles from the entire frozen structure up into Kopaka's body. His mask and body, which had faded to a dull grey, once again took on their brilliant white sheen, and his superstructure once again frosted over with elemental power. Satisfied that he had fully replenished his strength, the Toa activated his magnified vision and stared at the other gates that presented themselves.

Before anything else, it was prudent that the Toa learn more about this world and its nature, and for that, any large repository of information would be valuable. Kopaka scanned the various gates until spying the entrance to Coruscant. It's shining metallic archway denoted a high degree of technological prowess, and any civilization that had advanced technology would also have a repository of information. Satisfied with his choice, Kopaka set off in the direction of the Coruscant gate, unhindered by fear.

...

A few hours later, the Toa arrived at the gate, where two white-armored biologicals stood at attention. Kopaka did not recognize the black hunks of metal they held in their arms, but when they were presented towards him as he approached, it was clear that they were weapons of some kind. Kopaka did not immediately draw his sword, for it was simply sensible for a guardsman to deter any troublemaker that might come along. The Toa did not have this intention, so he felt no threat, though his shield arm did tense up ever so slightly.

"State your business." the biological on the right said. Kopaka was bemused at how the guard's electronically warped voice sounded slightly similar to his own, if slightly more muffled and scratchy.

"I seek knowledge of this place. I have no intention of causing trouble." Kopaka said flatly. The guards looked the Toa up and down. Honestly, if they forbid entrance to Coruscant to every prime who came along with weapons and armor, almost no one would ever enter. This prime, however, gave off an aura of cold authority which made the biomechanical being seem slightly more...imposing than usual. Regardless, they had no immediate reason to forbid him access.

"Move along." the guard on the right said, gesturing with his head. They shouldered their weapons once more, and Kopaka passed through the portal...

[Kopaka]

Kopaka walked solemnly out of the main Coruscant gate and gazed down at the EPD regalia that he still wore. Lieutenant Brath had indicated that the Empire and Camelot had a hostile relationship, and that the Toa should not reveal his allegiance to the Empire until he had won, if such a miracle were to occur. The biomech turned to one of the stormtrooper guards at the threshold of the black steel gate and handed over the shoulder pad and ID tags.

"Please send these back to EPD headquarters, if you are able. I must appear to be a neutral party for the time being." Kopaka said, walking away without bothering to see or hear if the trooper would comply. Such trivialities were beneath the Toa's concern.

As usual, the bright white expanse of The Nexus was soothing to Kopaka's calm sensibilities. The landscape, almost totally devoid of color and bright as a star was rather reminiscent of the snowy drifts that Kopaka preferred as his usual climes. Still, it wasn't nearly as cold as the Toa would have preferred, so the illusion of being home was far from perfect.

The Akaku granted Kopaka the ability to see far into the distance, so locating the gate to Camelot was simple. It was also easy to spot the multitude of other individuals who were slowly filing into the stone aperture. It was more Primes that Kopaka could have possibly assumed existed within the Omniverse, but then again, based on his research within the Great Library, the Omniverse had been enslaving outsiders to its routine for over a decade at this point.

In time, Kopaka drew near to the arch of cleanly hewn rock and smirked idly to himself behind his mask. Pohatu and Onua would have had a fit trying to decide whether the gate was more an example of the Stone or the Earth elements. It was these small recollections and external associations that kept Kopaka's spirits up as he traversed this deeply foreign place. At least there was a much more natural feeling to this area than that of Coruscant, were almost nothing was natural or untouched by the ways of sentient beings. Steeling himself for the unexpected, Kopaka silently stepped through into the swirling light...

[Kopaka]

Kopaka emerged from the stone archway with a rattling, metallic sigh. The pain in his chest from the bullet wound was ebbing slowly, over time, but it would be a long wait before he was fit for full-fledged combat. Hopefully the EPD wouldn't seek to ask too much of him upon his return to Coruscant. The Toa was fully aware of the fact that he could heal himself much more quickly through the use of Omnilium, but for some reason, he felt as though he didn't deserve the respite from the throbbing ache in his torso.

Maybe it was regret of a job left unfinished.

Maybe it was regret for what he had done to the Lorn creature.

Kopaka shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut and banishing the thoughts from his mind. There was no need to dwell on these things; he had a simple job to do. Protect the innocent. Tend to Duty. Seek out and Banish Darkness.

With this creed held firmly in his icy heart, the Toa sojourned across the vast expanse of the Nexus, ignoring any of the litany of distractions that tried to pry him away from his determined brooding. It was a quiet journey, and before long, the Toa found himself passing through the gate to Coruscant once more. Though he didn't bother to use the Akaku to glance at the faces of the guards as he passed by, he was sure they were sneering at him like everyone else...