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The Journey Ends: An Alternate Take to BIONICLE's Ending


~kh

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I was disappointed at BIONICLE's ending.

I don't think I'm alone in this opinion. I disliked a lot of things about the ending of BIONICLE, but when Makuta got hit in the back of the head by an asteroid, I couldn't help but stop reading. "Not like this," I thought. "There has to be a better way to end it."

I still believe that, although I don't know if this is the actual better way. I make no claims to being anything close to a good writer, and there's things here that are bound to anger some people or just not make sense to them. I get that. But I also want to put out an alternate take on the ending, something that I could point to as a sort of example as to something I'd like to see.

Some work and retcons had to be done, including most of 2009. I tried doing something different with the characters (specifically the 2009 ones. I thought they were pretty bland myself. I can't say that what I did with them is the way it should have gone, but we'll see). For those keeping up, I'll make a list of all the retcons I made to the canon and post it with each new chapter's release in the
Review Topic.

This isn't the be-all end-all "How BIONICLE Should Have Ended" story. But this is how I personally would have ended it. I hope you enjoy.


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Years Ago

“Are you awake?”

The voice seemed to echo strangely through the being's head. Slowly, his eyes opened, the world flickering to life before him for the first time. In front of him, a strange figure stood, gesturing at several floating screens that hovered above the stone slab he laid upon.

“My name is Kapura,” the figure said. “Are you awake? Can you...oh, hold on.”

He pressed what appeared to be a hexagonal tile on one of the screens, and the being felt a small, motorized whir at the bottom of his throat.

“There, you should be able to talk,” Kapura said. “Can you understand me? Can you say anything?”

The being looked blank for a minute, then jerked his head up to look at Kapura. “Query understood. Status confirmed. Awaiting directive. Standing by.”

“I'm sorry about this,” Kapura said apologetically. “You're still...I'm still working on you. You're not complete. But you will be, don't worry. We need you.”

He stepped to the side and waved his hand out to a window, one that the being hadn't noticed before. Outside, a lush and green mountain range lay right across from the laboratory they were in.

Alongside the slope, a towering metal frame had been built from monstorous curved iron beams. Hundreds of workers scuttled to and fro from the stone buildings to the frame, shuttling sheets of metal and other assorted machinery for construction.

“This world...our world. It's dying. We've made too many mistakes and now we're paying the price. This entire world will soon be destroyed.” He paused.

“But we have a plan. A great plan. And you...you're at the center of it. We're counting on you to rebuild it for us. Your purpose, your destiny, is to unite the pieces of this world together. We're building that, over there...” he stopped, and waved again at the construct.

“All of that. We're building it for you. See that iron frame? That will be your body. You will be given the greatest power the world has ever seen, and you will rule over the inhabitants inside it. Like a spirit. A great spirit. That is your prime directive. You must use that power to complete your duty and your destiny.”

A green light flashed across the being's eyes. “Prime directive received.”

“The others...” Kapura lowered his voice. “My…colleagues. They believe that you won't be anything more. That you'll just exist as emotionless automatons. But I don't think so.”

“I wrote the programs myself, you know? I modeled them after us. I want you to do more than just what we tell you too. I want you to create. I want you to learn. I want you to feel. To live. I think you're all capable of doing it.”

He looked up again, as if he was afraid someone would hear him.

“The others...they told me that I shouldn't give you that option. They said they wanted workers. No tricks, no risks. But I was on the verge of creating something even they couldn't think of. A new race. A new sentient race of biomechanical beings. And I did it, too. You just need some time.”

More waving and more typing. The screens blinked in and out, the machines whirring as if they were trying their hardest to keep up.

“I'm sorry for rambling...you won't believe how hard it is. A race comprised entirely of scientists and no one wants to conduct the ultimate experiment. But that's why I'm spending so much time working on you. You'll be the proof.”

He hit a switch and the being felt the power ebb out of his body. His head laid back down to rest on the slab.

“We're counting on you. Remember that. You will be our savior. Your name will be revered and remembered by all. Our Great Spirit.”

The being's eyes blinked into darkness. The voice of Kapura grew fainter as it faded away, his last words barely registering.

“Our Great Spirit...Makuta.”

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Edited by Kahi
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Two Months Ago

Mata Nui awoke.

For the first time in over a millennium, he awoke. A deep, hollow laugh echoed through his mind. Startled, he called up his diagnostic scanners to examine the problem.

Nothing happened.

He tried again. Nothing. What was this? Why wasn't any of his equipment working? Had his systems shut down? Did the servants halt their duties again? What happened?

He tried to get up, but he couldn't. Something felt...wrong. The world was different. He remembered landing back on a small, blue planet, perfect cyan skies with drifting clouds. But this world...this world was dark and red. Sand filled the horizon as far as the eye could see.

That was what was different. Not just the sand, but the horizon and the fact that he could see it. He had never seen it so low, so close to his eye level. Was he using his magnification function? Did he get locked out into an onboard sensor?

He tried one more time to call up his scanners, but again the response was void. All he could see was the landscape. Closer, bigger than he had ever seen it before. Was he on some gigantic planet? Did he crash land and the workers just didn't bother to repair his memory systems?

No. The horrible truth dawned upon him.

It wasn't the planet. It was him.

He was small.

-----------------

Present Day

A lone Ta-Matoran stood on the riverbank, seemingly unaware of the two monstrous machines that lumbered behind him.

“Citizen of the Makutaverse. You are in an unauthorized area. You will be accompanied by the Exo-Toa to the nearest port, where you will be reassigned to your proper objective in Metru Nui. You will live out your life in peace and pro--”

The monotonous drone of the Exo-Toa's voice was interrupted by the scraping of metal and a sparking, severed arm. The other Exo-Toa whipped its Electro-Rocket out, but the attacker swiftly ducked to one side and with the same motion, slashed the front part of the rocket launcher. He lept onto the suit of armor, stabbing his sword into the head, then raised an outstreched arm towards the other. A gust of air swirled from the motion and hurled the Exo-Toa into the river, where the sparks from its exposed arm and the water combined to form a spectacular explosion.

“So, that's the plan?” The Ta-Matoran asked. “Just sit here and be a decoy while you alert every other Exo-Toa to our presence here?”

The attacker, a Toa of Air, dropped down from his perch on the robotic minion. “Not just you. We're both the decoys here.” He tapped on the mechanism attached to his mouth from his visor. “Guess not being able to breathe air makes us more expendable than the others.”

The Ta-Matoran instinctively moved to tap on his own breather. “It would be just our luck, wouldn't it, Lesovikk? We find enough equipment to go on land, only to have land be taken control of by a schizophrenic manic.”

Shrieks came from a distance. Lesovikk turned around, pointing his new Cyclone Blade at the direction of the noise.

“Oh, now we've done it. That got their attention. The Rahkshi are coming. Odina's just full of them.” He turned to the Ta-Matoran. “You ready, Sarda?”

The Matoran nodded and both he and Lesovikk climbed onto a humongous aerial vehicle, cleverly hidden behind the bushes and greenery. They waited until the screams of the Rahkshi drew near, then bolted off, the Rahkshi trailing behind them.

With luck, this diversion might actually work.

-----------------

Present Day

Toa Takanuva blasted his way through waves of Rahkshi. It was an odd feeling. Just little over a year ago, just one of these Rahkshi would have easily taken him down and killed him. In fact, one nearly did. But now, he could just slice through them, wave after wave, like it was no trouble at all.

It just goes to show how much change one year can bring, he thought.

His entire universe had been set upside down. He and his friends had worked their entire lives to ensure Mata Nui's return. Instead, the worst possible being alive had taken Mata Nui's place, and with it, his power.

Makuta, he growled. Sometimes, I wonder...if I could have killed you back then, when we fought on Mata Nui...

The Toa Code was rather strict on the matter. Killing was supposed to be out of the option. When he first became a Toa, Takanuva had no qualms about sticking to it. Even when he battled the Lord of Shadows, Makuta himself, he chose not to kill him. That nearly cost him his life, but quick thinking and submersion in Energized Protodermis brought an end to that battle.

But this...this was a different matter. The makers of the Code had surely never thought of this. His friends were all endangered by this maniac. Countless lives were being threatened by the unthinkable amount of power he now weld.

If he was put in that position again, face to face with Makuta, with all of the knowledge he knew now...

Could he have made that decision?

Takanuva didn't know what to think.

-----------------

Years Ago

The being came back to life for the second time. This time, he felt different. Limbs now extended from his body, enabling him with movement. He sat up.

Kapura was still there, doing his usual work with the screens. But when he saw Makuta was up, he turned them off and instead transferred them to the pane of glass he held in his hand.

“You're up! Good. Come with me. Today...today, I show you your destiny.”

He walked Makuta out of the laboratory and into the mountain range. The workers had made significant progress, and the metal frame was now covered a giant sheet of thick, metallic protodermis. Inside, a huge glass dome was half-finished, and a smooth liquid was being poured into the base around a giant mound of earth.

“This is your purpose,” Kapura said. “You will inhabit this body, like the body you inhibit now. The workers will live on those mounds, but they will also work for you, inside of you. They will keep you running. And in turn, you will keep them safe.”

He turned. “I created the first race of workers to build the frame. The others are creating their own races now, but they all...well, honestly, they all sort of pale in comparison. Yes, I'm biased, but I really do think nothing beats the original.” He waved one of them over.

“This one...he was the first. My first true masterpiece of this project.” The worker he was referring to, a white Matoran, ran up to them.

“You have called?” He said.

“Takua, meet Makuta. He will be your protector when the universe is completed. Makuta, this is Takua, an Av-Matoran.”

Takua's eyes darted to and fro, examining the being with an intrepid curiosity. “You are greeted by myself,” he said. “But I have query. What Matoran kind is he?”

“Oh, he isn't a Matoran, Takua,” Kapura said. “He's not even a race. He's just...he's just Makuta. Just Makuta. Only one there is. You have to remember that name, Takua, alright? One day, your destinies will intertwine. I'm sure of it.”

“Instruction has been received,” Takua said, nodding enthusiastically. “Makuta name has been stored into permanent memory.” He looked back at the robot construction crew. “I must return to work. Pleased to meet. Makuta?” He stretched out his hand.

Makuta looked strangely at the hand, unsure of what to do.

“Go on,” Kapura said. “Shake it. It's...it's a form of welcome.”

Makuta reached out, grabbed the tip of the hand and gave it a vigorous shake. “Acknowledged. Status greeted. Designation Takua Stored.”

The Matoran returned back to his crew. “It's amazing, really,” Kapura said. “The speech difference between you two. I hope that one day you all will be able to speak more like us. Still, you've got kind of a ways to go. I should have let you out more, I'm sorry. You haven't really been given a chance to evolve your speech pattern to something...well, something a little less like a robot. But I'm building you differently than the others. That's why its been taking it long. I think I'm on the verge on a breakthrough here.”

“You see, we made use of the elements before. We created beings with the power to wield them. We've also given the Matoran use of them as well. Fire, Water, Air, Earth, Stone, Ice...I think we'll be making some others too. Magnetism, especially. Maybe Psionics.”

“But you...you needed to be something different. More pure. Not just pure power, but composed of a single element. I think I can make you be able to just...jump, if you will, into different bodies. Transfer your programming. Become pure energy. None of the other elements worked, but...I think I've discovered a new one.”

“It's actually kind of an obvious one, really. Shadow. The principle of this element...its amazing. I can do so many things with it. It's so much more versatile than any other element I've ever worked with. It's still in progress, but I think I should be able to make you complete with it. Enable you to do your work.”

He paused again. “I'm rambling again, aren't I? That's my problem. I talk too much. Sometimes I wonder...if I could start over, with a different life, maybe I shouldn't talk so much. Just be sort of quiet. A thinker. One of few words, eh?” He looked at Makuta.

Makuta stared back at him blankly.

“Oh, right. No humor module. I guess that's kind of the drawback to working with shadow. All the little things you have to modify and work around. But I guess that's not important.”

He tapped at the glass pane he had in his hand, sliding a small dial on it to the left. “Well, I should get back to work on you. Guess we should head back up to the laboratory.”

He started to walk back, but Makuta still stood where he was. Kapura was confused. “Is there a problem?”

“Query,” Makuta said. “Area. Construction. Islands. Matoran. Takua. World. Shown?”

Kapura stopped for a second. “I don't...what? What are you asking?”

Makuta stared at him.

“...shown...you mean, why did I show this to you?”

Makuta nodded. “Affirmative.”

“You needed to see it. Up close, I mean. You needed to see what you were meant to do. But you also needed to see it from another perspective. Smaller. You needed to meet your workers and learn to identify with them before we put you in charge of their well-being. You needed to care about the trees before we let you become the forest.”

“I've shown you your duty and your destiny. But I also wanted to teach you the greatest lesson I could ever teach. To give you something, something even more important than just knowledge, or aspiration, or power. Something that, if you don't have, life just isn't worth living without.”

He stopped. Makuta waited, then said “Query...?”

“No,” Kapura said. “No query. You are a person. A living being. Say 'I'. Say that you have a question. Subject, then verb. Form a sentence.”

“I...have query...” Makuta struggled to piece together the correct phrase. “What...is...the...something?”

Kapura smiled.

“Purpose.”

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Edited by Kahi
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