"Peace"

Barcus looked ahead. Darkness loomed before him. He could see only tree-trunks of innumerable sizes and shapes: straight or bent, twisted, leaning, squat or slender, smooth or gnarled and branched; and all the stems were green or grey with moss and slimy, shaggy growths. Looking back proved futile as everything around him was similar.

He was lost.

Barcus could not believe it. The very path that he had followed for years was now gone, replaced by the mass overgrowth of plants.

Barcus shook his head, and wiped away his sweat. He swatted at the swarms of blood-sucking insects buzzing around him. He thought aloud, "How could I possibly get lost? I've been gathering herbs in this forest for years!" Expressing his displeasure, Barcus fussed and kicked at the flora strewn across the forest floor. As if in retaliation, a vine suddenly shot out and tripped Barcus, sending him falling to the ground with a loud thud.

Barcus shivered and stood up shakily. Even the forest was now hostile towards him. Uneasiness filled his mind as he tried to calm himself down. Escaping was his highest priority now. There was no way that he will stay in the wretched forest any longer. But there is only one problem. How can he find his way out? And more importantly, how can he keep himself safe from the harassment of the unknown forces taunting him? Thoughts clouded his mind.

A dark chuckle echoed through the dense foliage, a voice so dreadful that the surrounding plants withered and died. Barcus tensed, and looked around wildly, The chirping of birds could not be heard anymore. Barcus turned and ran, as fast as his legs could carry him. He ran, and ran, yet the forest did not get thinner, but instead darker than ever. Barcus gasped for breath, and stumbled to the ground, exhausted. The cruel laughter emitted from the darkness again. Then all was slient, but darkness and evil was everywhere. The tension was unbearable, and Barcus finally broke down and sobbed.

The ground trembled as a massive giant revealed himself from the shadows. Smoke swirled and circled around him. Barcus looked up and was petrified. His eyes were wide with shock, and he started mouthing silent curses. The dark being snarled and slammed his fist into the ground. Instantly, Barcas was surrounded by a cage of shadows. He could sense that he was being lifted away from the ground, but to where, he could not tell. Suddenly, a tentacle of shadow grabbed his body, and sent excruciating pain shooting through Barcus's body. His skin was burning, body on fire, mind corroded... burning... burning...burn...

"Light. Brightness. Unity, Duty, Destiny!" Barcus gasped and sat up. He blinked and looked around him. A dim glow surrounded him as a thin beam of light poured down through a crack in the ceiling and penetrated the darkness. Various artifacts were placed around him. He himself was sitting on a engraved stone slab, covered with runes of an unknown language. Where am I? He rubbed his weary eyes. And how long have I been unconcious? His whole body felt bruised, but he chose to ignore it. He wanted to get out of this cursed place at once. That was what mattered most.

Barcus stood up and walked a few steps foward. Then he paused, and listened. Only the slight sound of trickling water and his own breathing could be heard. Suddenly, a blood-curdling shriek emitted from within the bowels of the dungeon. Barcus's hair stood on all ends as he bit his lips, and burst into a run, not caring where he went, as long as he could escape. Tears streamed down his eyes as he sped through the dungeon, oblivious to the horrifiying decor scattered throughout the place.

He ran for hours, which seemed like years to him. He could not feel his feel his legs anymore, and fell. He groaned, and looked up. A shadow has now blocked his path. In seconds, it had enveloped Barcus. "No... not again... please... let me go..." choked Barcus. A dark being appeared beside him. His body was rusted and pitted, with eyes without any emotion, red, and hollow. "Where... do you think... you are going, Barcus?" the being growled. "You have great potential in you... Join me, and be my brother... Barcus... Join me." "No!" whimpered Barcus. "I won't! Please leave me alone!" "Do you think you could defy me, the very brother of Mata Nui? I will... be giving you a choice. Join me... or you could return to your own home, unharmed..." Not believing his ears, Barcus stared at Makuta and said, "Please, just let me go home..." Makuta chuckled darkly, "Yes... I will let you return unharmed..." He rose his hand, and teleported Barcus away in a mass of shadows, but not before whispering, "...but hated and repeled... by your very own... friends." Makuta chuckled again. Barcus would make a fine pawn to him.

Barcus gasped as he reappeared in the plains. Panting, and not looking back, Barcus gritted his teeth and continued his journey back to his village. The path was clear to him now. He was exhausted, but mostly unharmed, and Barcus was grateful for that. He paused slightly to enjoy the fresh air, and allowed the gentle breeze to blow onto his face. He smiled happily and went on.

He trudged towards the village entrance a few hours later. He was thrilled, and increased his speed, wanting to be welcomed back into his village's embrace as fast as possible. Suddenly, Barcus was overwhelmed by a wave of exhaustion and collapsed onto the ground, just inches from the vicinity of the village. He breathed deeply, and fell asleep.

Barcus appeared into a realm of darkness. He stood his ground in the middle of an endless plain. Shadowy creatures surrounded him, vanishing and reappearing at will, all trying to lure Barcus to join them. "Barcus..." a grim voice filled with hatred echoed through the darkness. "Come... and join me... together, with my... Legion of Darkness..." Barcus gasped in horror and clasped his hands over his ears, in a vain attept to drown out the malicious voice. He shut his eyes and shook his head, mumbling, "Please, no... please stop it..." The voice chuckled, and said, "We shall see... brother..."

"No!" Barcus awoke, panting. Though still half-asleep, he could vaguely see that he had been surrounded by a crowd. They were all looking at him with fear and doubt in their eyes, whispering, and some even prodded him. Barcus shook his head to clear his mind. He grunted, and staggered up. The villages gasped, "Its alive!" Barcus looked around, confused, and spotted one of his best friends among the crowd. He tried to call out to him, but all that came out was just a terrible loud growl, which greatly frightened the crowd. They stepped back. "Halt, monster!" Barcus turned to see a group of armed villagers marching towards him, weapons raised. The leader of the looked angry, and he spat onto the ground, saying, "You shall not harm the villagers, beast!" Barcus stood in shock, as the very villagers that he loved were all turning agaisnt him. He tried to answer, but another growl emitted instead. He looked pleadingly at his friend, and walked towards him, with hands open to embrace him.

The crowd parted in panic, but his friend stood his ground and raised a spear. "Don't get close to me, or I swear that I will put this spear right through your filthy heart, beast!" Barcus was on the werge of tears now. He turned to see a villager raising a shovel to attack him. Barcus fled. All this was to much for him. He sobbed loudly, and ran, and ran, until his legs could not bear to carry him anymore. He crawled towards a small stream, to quench his thirst, but was greeted instead by the face of a gruesome monster in the stream. His own face. His skin had turned a sickly green, with fangs protruding out of his mouth, shaggy hair and ugly warts covering his once handsome face. The mere image made Barcus himself relatiate with shock. No. Barcus broke down once more.

After some time, Barcus stopped crying and dried his eyes. He looked back into the stream, and was suprised to see the face of Lewa, his village guardian, staring at him. Barcus gasped and turned, just in time to see the hilt of a shining blade slamming into his face.

As he slipped into unconciousness, Barcus smiled. He knew that he would not be bothered anymore by the dark being. He was finally at peace. A single tear rolled down his cheek.

Darkness overwhelmed him.

Peace...