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There was a lot on Avak’s mind that night, and looking back, he wasn’t sure what made Makuta’s control falter.
Maybe he was just tired. Pretending he was a Toa, that he cared about the Matoran’s silly little problems, from sunrise to set, was exhausting. All that compounded onto his already horrible sleep schedule.
Maybe it was his doubt. From the very start of this mission, he had harbored a bad feeling. Enough to give him pause, but not bad enough to drive him away.
Or maybe it had been his frustration in building those damn zamor sphere launchers. Not only did he have to keep the weapon's construction a secret from the Matoran, he had to make six of them.
And he kept getting dragged out of his workshop for Matoran guard duty.
That frustration, however, was certainly what started his slow realization.
Avak tossed the prototype onto his desk, bits scattering to the dirty stone floor. He rubbed at his eyes, a question hissing from behind his teeth.
“ Why do I even bother ?”
It was with a bite of sarcasm, for he knew the reason perfectly well.
Zaktan’s precious, headache-inducing spheres needed to be activated from a considerable distance in order to properly control the Matoran. And with them under their command, the retrieval of the Ignika would go on without issue and without pause.
Not to mention that the launchers’ completion would greatly ease the pressure off Avak’s uncharismatic shoulders.
But the act of questioning why was the catalyst.
It made him really think .
He remembered being back in the Makuta’s chamber, being struck with the same knowledge as the five and a half skakdi that shared his company.
The location of the legendary Mask of Life.
The how or why wasn’t on anyone’s mind…except Avak’s.
“The mask has been hidden for thousands of years,” he’d pondered aloud, “...why do we have to rush?”
The silence that hung thickly in the room made it clear that no one else shared his perspective.
So then…why had he gone along with Zaktan’s plan? Why had he abandoned his position with the Dark Hunters? Betrayed the Shadowed One with only the barest flicker of hesitation?
He was smarter than that.
Was he?
He turned to look over his shoulder at the other Piraka, who were gathered around a fire pit near the hut Avak had claimed as his workshop.
Thok and Hakann were at it again, bickering over nothing important and on the short track to a fistfight. Reidak watched on with a wry grin, leaning over to mutter something to Vezok that Avak couldn’t hear. The water skakdi seemed disinterested, lazily scraping at the dirt in a half-minded search for stones. Zaktan was nowhere to be seen.
This was expected behavior from them, backed by millenia of existing in their foul presences.
The Piraka were made up of approximately two-thirds idiocy, and their self-serving greed was baked into who they were as skakdi.
But for all of them to go from being Dark Hunters, wanting money, entertainment, or recognition to…craving world conquest?
It felt exaggerated, like a tale that some doddering old Turaga would tell.
But then again, who wouldn’t want power like that?
The key to the universe in one’s hand…It made sense they would try for it.
Except it didn’t , not for everyone at least.
Hakaan? Certainly. There was no doubt in Avak’s mind that the backstabbing bully would do anything for a shred of the Ignika’s power. He could throw him further than he trusted him.
Zaktan? Surely. Not just to get his body back in one piece, but to take his revenge against the one who made him that way. Having his own grudges against the Shadowed One, Avak couldn't blame him.
Thok? Debatable. That slimy bastard thought he was better than everyone else, but him taking that as a reason for conquest felt…highly unlikely.
Vezok? Maybe, if just to gain the upper hand against Vezon. But even if the two were reunited, he just couldn’t see him trying to conquer the world.
But Reidak ? He was invulnerable, and had been a Hunter for the thrill, for spirit's sake! Why would he want the mask?!
Something wasn't right with them, and now Avak could see that something hadn't been right with him , either.
His head felt clearer than it had been in weeks, but it wasn't fully there. It felt like his consciousness was looking down on his own mind, aware but detached.
He activated his telescopic vision, glancing at the other Piraka’s faces in turn. Watching closely, carefully…
Thok didn’t notice his gaze, too busy being shoved down a hill by Hakann, who laughed uproariously. Reidak’s shoulders bounced as he held down a chuckle of his own, giving Vezok a shove as he continued to dig lazily at the dirt.
Everything as it should be, of course.
Except it wasn’t . He knew it wasn’t.
Now more aware of his own mind, he could feel an urge burrowing away at him, like how hunger digs at one’s stomach. Not just to find the Ignika, but to take it for himself .
And as he looked closely at the Piraka outside, he could tell that the others were feeling that same itch. They all looked at each other with contemplating gazes, plotting not-so-secretly how to take each other out.
Thok and Hakann’s bickering resumed, and as Reidak glanced away from Vezok to witness the squabbling, Avak finally caught it.
A glimmer of sickening green that lingered behind the other skakdi’s pupils, delayed by a fraction of a second.
A familiar shade to the crystalline container that Zaktan held so dearly…
A high-pitched shrieking ripped through his ears, making him lose his focus. This wasn’t the usual ringing that plagued him, it felt like someone was screaming directly into his brain.
He fell backwards off his chair as his vision powers deactivated, leaving him even more disoriented as he tried to figure out where the noise was coming from.
Avak looked out the doorway to the other Piraka, who hadn’t even noticed, and likely didn’t care, that he’d fallen.
The noise made it hard to think clearly, but he needed to tell them something, anything of what he’d just discovered.
But how could he explain it to them? He’d sound madder than Vezon if he wasn’t careful.
Those fools knew full well what he was capable of, yet still mocked him.
He deserved the Mask of Life, not them!
Like a bloody lance, fear stabbed at Avak’s heartstone.
These thoughts weren't his own . They were from somewhere, some one else.
The Hunters wouldn’t take him back, not after betraying them on a whim.
Avak curled in on himself, his vision blurring with tears. His throat felt tight and his chest stuttered with his panicked, choked sobs.
They were right.
If he left this island now, he was all alone. Nowhere would be safe for him to hide.
Unless you find it.
His breath began to slow, a wave of calm washing over him.
Take it for yourself.
This voice…it was an invader, but not a threat.
You deserve it more.
It was a guide.
Wipe that smug look off the Shadowed One’s face.
A helping hand.
Finally take your life back into your hands.
His destiny.
Earn your freedom back.