Backflash

(Hi all, this is my entry into the writing contest, the first part of a series I might finish, so consider it a pilot. Thanks, and have fun)

Backflash

Darkness.

That was my first thought... yes, I remember. It's been such a long time, but I don't think any of my brethren have ever forgotten the moment of their creation either. To know for the first time, feelings and senses whizzing around your mind... it's incredible. I knew that, when I awoke for the first time, I had a destiny. I had no idea what it was... sometimes I wonder whether I've long since achieved it but I've failed to grow weak, and evil has failed to crush me. It was my creators, however, that had programmed my destiny right from the beginning... I can feel it in my metal... I was built to fulfil a purpose of theirs. But what was it? I am of course convinced that they left clues for me along the way. So here I am, sat at this desk with a pen and paper, thinking as I did that very first time when they flipped the switch to ON millennia ago.

No wonder we hailed them, and worshipped them as gods. To not only control life and death, purpose and being, but destiny itself truly demands such respect in return. Though... unlike the typical representation of a god... our creators were terrifying. Unnatural. False gods, toying with nature and twisting it to their own mysterious intentions. These gods were certainly not benevolent.

What happened to them? What did they program my destiny to be? I must remember. If I do still have a part in the future of this chaotic multiverse, the answer lies in the past. The question to that answer though... is will I be fulfilling my destiny... or theirs?


Vrmmm. Vrmmm. Vrmmm.

Vrmmm. Vrmmm. Vrmmm.

Vrmmm. Vrmmm. Vrm... why is it so dark?

With that thought, the newborn ignored the mechanical humming being emitted from all around him and slowly opened his eyes. The first picture ever presented to his mind began to come into focus. With concentration, he could just about make out several purple shapes moving around in front of him, with various curved hand tools close to his vision extending from those shapes. The newborn closed his eyes again, and tilted his head up. He could move, but not by much; there were tight restraints on his legs, both his arms were free, and something was holding the right arm up. Opening an eye and peering to his right, there was a soft and wrinkled yet muscular purple creature to be observed holding his arm up, bending a plate of armour round it with sharp, silver teeth. Once it had finished, it moved over to the newborn's chestplate, and stared into the cracks with piercing green eyes, adorned with multiple black pupils. At that moment the newborn discovered he could smell, and the creature's odor wasn't pleasant, though he didn't yet have the knowledge or experience to be able to compare it to anything else distasteful.
"Something's different about this one. Are you sure you've implemented all the correct information to his instinct core? He seems to already be showing an accelerated heartrate and an unusually bright heartstone, Iklimix." The creature muttered from just below the field of view that the newborn's restraints would allow. This voice was like a shriek, but somehow horrifically decipherable by the audio receptors, and caused them to sting for a few seconds.
Another high-pitched, yet slower and steadier voice responded from a short distance: "I think so! Whatever this is, it's just his augmented body responding to being activated. His personality core might already be damaged, but I'm sure that's not the ca-"
The other was cut off by the first, now standing erect and staring straight into the newborn's open eyes with a look of absolute terror. "Iklimix... look! He can hear us...! What have you done?! Shut him down! NOW!" He turned away and skipped over to a blurry control panel with lots of lights and colours, and began pressing manically.
A sudden pain rippled through the newborn's head a thousandfold worse than before, shortly followed by thoughts. Lots of thoughts, at once. As the aforementioned instinct core kicked in, however, one of those thoughts arose to dominance above all others.
They're trying to kill me.
With a yell of primal rage, the newborn ripped the leather strap off his right leg with his right hand and the other with his left. Jumping down from the small podium with a triumphant clang as his protosteel feet hit the protosteel floor, and with his vision still as blurred as before, he boldly fumbled around in front of him, took his first few baby steps. The first purple creature, (was it 'Iklimix'?) dived at him and pushed the newborn back into the operating station while the other came into view, looking identical to Iklimix from where he stood, carrying something shiny and jagged.
I have to get out of here. So the newborn rallied and pushed back on Iklimix with all his newfound might, sending the creature stumbling back into his friend and falling flat on his back. The newborn ran forward, but instead his second target spun round... round... until he was on top and the newborn lay on the floor.
His enemy, with teeth as shiny as the tool he carried, gave a cackling laugh.
"I'm proud of you!" He began. "Iklimix certainly picked a lively one for me to handle! Now, shhhh my dear, don't you worry, I'll go fetch your mask, and you won't remember a thing. Not for a long, long time."
The newborn's next image of life was a black, thick boot hovering over his vision. Then thump.



Agh... why is it so bright?
Kakamu opened his eyes for what he thought was the first time. Looking around him, he could see the various symbols and illustrations decorated on the walls with perfect clarity, and once his visual examination of the environment was complete, he came to the conclusion that he was in a domed room, with sunbeams entering through the circular glass in the center of the ceiling. The air was fresh as he took a deep breath, and he felt light-hearted and happy. Smiling, there were others just like him on both sides, but with different colours and masks, similarly looking around.
"Are you quite finished, my Matoran?" a deep yet feminine voice echoed around the room. Surprised, Kakamu and the others jumped, and were faced with a tall woman of their species clad in rich blue armour. She made an effort to stand tall and proud, Kakamu observed, but he noticed she was injured. A deep gash was noticeable in the side of her thigh, and she limped slightly while approaching, though she must have been trying to shake it off and ignore the damage done. Nevertheless, she laughed good-naturedly at the group of newcomers and spread her arms in a welcoming gesture.
"Brothers and sisters of the smaller kind, there must be explanation before exploration, so listen if you will! Don't be afraid, I am a friend, as is everyone else on this island to you, your home. You may address me as Toa Helryx." Her mask shifted slightly to accommodate her slight smile. "...And it will stay that way as long you obey the law. You are in Ga-Metru, in a school, in fact. Here you will stay for the day to learn all about your lives and roles. Afterwards, your teachers will redirect you to employment centers in the Metru you belong to. If you have any questions your teachers can't answer... well, you can always request a visit to the Knowledge Towers in Ko-Metru, if it is the season where your visits can be accommodated by the observers. Well, I must leave you here; I have important business to attend to. Talk to the staff... and stay strong for the Great Spirit."
And with that, she departed, her cloak dragging slightly across the floor of the domed room on her way out.
Something tells me she knows more than anyone else here, the young Ta-Matoran thought, and I have a lot of questions.
With that and a "Wait!", he jogged after her, reaching her side as she got to the arched doorway entrance of the building. Hearing him, she looked down inquisitively for a moment.
"What is it...", she said in a quieter voice, and laid her hand over his head, closing her eyes. A few moments later, her mask glowed and she snapped back to attention. "...Kakamu?"
Kakamu paused for a moment. Kakamu... that's my name "...yeah, that's my name!" he replied enthusiastically. Helryx chuckled.
"If you had questions, it seems as though I've answered one for you already! Now go on, back insi-"
"Are you the queen of the city?" Kakamu blurted out suddenly. She paused, and frowned.
"No, I am no ruler. I am this city's guardian. And right now, it needs protecting more than ever. Although this mask of Psychometry doesn't allow me to tell the future; quite the opposite, I can still feel bad tidings on the waves of the seas. Dark days await Metru Nui. Stay strong, Kakamu."
And with that, she stepped outside and shut the door. Suddenly the slowly-increasing pitter-patter of rain against the roof made itself all the more audible, and the last of the rays of light through the glass was obscured by the clouds.

Wow, that's a good one. Looking forward to the possibility of more!

This is really good. Looking forward to more too.

(I decided to continue with this today, because I like Kakamu, and I feel like his origin story deserves to be finished. This chapter is slightly shorter though, because I'm tired.)

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Year 150,083, present day...

For countless days and nights, I have sat at this desk in my laboratory. My laboratory that is buried beneath a primitive planet far beyond the sights of the galaxy I once called home. I have taken my son, my assistant and my ally to live here with me, as should I return to my home galaxy I would be hunted down by my enemies and destroyed. My biometal body is powerful indeed, but I am not invincible in my skin, and there are many out there who seek to vanquish me following the war. The Uterio War was short but devastating, and proves that the Great Beings' namesake is not just honorary. Despite their self-proclaimed eternal wisdom, they lost the war, and created me over a hundred thousand years ago. I am their biggest mistake. I, Kakamu, will unravel the remaining parts of their empire like a ball of string and make sure that they never set foot near the planets of innocent people again.

To do this though, I need to dig deep inside my own mind. My quest to uncover the secrets surrounding my creation continue. I will peel back every layer of my subconsciousness, in the hope that one day I will understand what the Kestora did to me. This is the story of how I lived, never to die.

-----

Year 20,576, a very long time ago...

Slightly confused by Toa Helryx's ominous prophecy, the newborn Matoran Kakamu drummed the chin guard of his mask. After a few moments he decided that he wasn't going to let it bother him, as the others back in the room behind him were celebrating, and someone had arrived to give a speech to the new Matoran arrivals. Kakamu adjusted his mask slightly, making sure that it fit properly. Satisfied, he walked back into the room and greeted the speaker with a smile and a salute. He sat on a cushion on the floor like the others around him, and turned to face the speaker. She was a small, blue-armoured member of his species, chatting about available job roles in Metru-Nui and how they could all make themselves useful to the Great Spirit. He tried to listen to what she was saying, but found himself distracted by the sound of the pitter-patter of rain on the glass ceiling of the domed room. She has such a lovely voice, he thought, so why are your words so boring? Sitting cross-legged with his hand propping up his head, he forced himself to concentrate on what the Ga-Matoran had to say.

"-there are opportunities for work for Le-Matoran on the chute system. The chute system is what connects all of the various parts of Metru-Nui together, and enables all of us to"...

Kakamu looked up to the heavens. A beautiful blue sky sat above, completely free of clouds, allowing beams of light to shine through the window. That's odd... there was rain a moment ago. Now not only is there no rain, but now rainclouds either... wow, this chick must be really boring for me to be wondering about the weather. As if she had heard him, her gaze was on Kakamu accompanied by an impatient expression when he looked back at her.

"Um... sorry what?" He asked.

"I asked you if you'd heard what I just said about Ta-Matoran job opportunities. Not trying to tell you off, but it's important that you do your part. If you don't work, that sets off a chain reaction of apathy, and apathy leads to death! You got it?"

Kakamu was even more confused now. "Uh, okay miss. So... just for clarification, what jobs were there for me again?" He had absolutely no idea what he wanted to do in this world, but he knew one thing for sure: He'd take duty over death any day... he had only just been created, after all.

The Ga-Matoran held up a clipboard, and flipped through a few pages. She placed a finger on one, and read the contents. "Well, for a Ta-Matoran like you, there aren't that many jobs going in Ta-Metru, but you have to live there so... let me see... ah yes, there's a position open for a mask maker for new arrivals like yourself. Interested?"

Kakamu wasn't sure, but hey, it could be fun right? "Alright, sign me up." The Ga-Matoran smiled, and took out a scratchboard from her satchel. She scrawled on it for a few moments, then handed it to Kakamu.

"This is the address to go to, and how to get there. Have fun out there." Kakamu took it, then walked out, reading as he went without looking back. As he exited the school, he was hit with a fresh smell of sea air from the docks to the east. Glancing up, and taking a moment to admire the city's beauty, he swivelled around before choosing a random direction to walk off in. He pointed a finger, and took a deep breath.

"Okay, here I go." He walked off towards the center of the brand new city, the sun setting behind him, completely oblivious to the impending threat of war. As he turned a corner to step down a street, a large protosteel claw emerged from a wall behind him, followed by a face obscured by a grey Hau. Somebody had just located his next potential hostage, and soon, Claw would be the richest Dark Hunter on the island.

Great chapter! I liked how you described Kakamu's distractions.

"If you don't work, that sets off a chain reaction of apathy, and apathy leads to death! You got it?"

You win for that one.

Klak took the words out of my mouth.

I hope the next chapter comes sooner!