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Hey y'all! I recently realized that I've poked and prodded at Lego BIONICLE (GBA) (aka Quest for the Toa, aka Tales of the Tohunga) a lot, and as such I probably know a thing or two about it that most Bionicle fans don't. Nothing earth-shaking or with deep canonical implications, but things I find interesting nonetheless. Many of these "minor discoveries" don't really merit their own forum thread, so I've created a blog where I'll start posting about them. I hope that it'll be interesting whether you've played the game or not, in the same way Supper Mario Broth is interesting. Give it a look and let me know what you think! Post 0: Introduction and FAQ

IC: Knichou, Coliseum Airspace, Bridge of the Taku Everything was happening it once. The Taku was already high above the Coliseum tower due to Knichou's plan of arriving on the roof, and from that high up, the city below truly looked like the end times had arrived. As they drew closer to the tower there were bright flashes of light from a particular floor. Something important must be happening in there already. Hearing the radio response, Knichou bregrudgingly began lowering the ship's altitude, silently listening to the others discuss their plans, but mostly focusing on piloting and his own thoughts. Arkius and Nale wanted to stand in unity with their fellow Toa on the battlefield. Kanohi's duty to the city compelled him to join the conflict below. Vashni would stay and ensure the matoran would complete their quest and unlock their destinies. The newly formed crew was already splitting up. It appeared that if he was to survive the coming hours, Knichou would soon be returned to the solitary life he once knew as a Ghost once each part of the crew had parted ways. Knichou began to focus on the obstacle ahead. The tower wanted him to land in the courtyard, which threw a wrench into Knichou's plan of dropping Stannis via the roof. He needed to come up with a new plan, fast, and tell the others. Maybe if they were to - "Knichou, there is no time." Stannis's voice drew Knichou's attention. Knichou turned around to see the Toa climb into the Toa canister and look at him with that oh-so-familiar quiet stare. "Proceed with the plan. Send me down." The ex-Ghost gave the Toa of stone a silent nod before the Toa closed the lid of the canister and sealed himself inside. From inside the canister Stannis had a strange view of the world around him. The sensors of the canister were at one with his senses, and his eyes could see everywhere at once. Stannis could feel the controls and naturally understood them, as if they were instinctual. Knichou turned back to his controls, knowing Stannis would drop when he saw his chance. Now it was up to Knichou to position Stannis above the tower. He slowed the rate at which the ship lost altitude, and kept his heading so they would pass closely over the Coliseum tower. It was a move sure to get the air traffic control irritated, but they couldn't really do anything about it. What were they going to do, destroy two great disks over some poor piloting? Ignoring any complaints coming over the radio, Knichou piloted the Taku so it would pass slowly over the top of the Coliseum, then continued descending towards the parade grounds. While they were passing over the Coliseum, the Toa canister silently passed through the floor as it turned intangible. Hopefully Stannis would make the canister tangible again near the right floor, or at least in a place where he wasn't trapped. Once the Taku had dropped anchor on the parade grounds, Knichou got out of the captain's chair and began dragging the suitcase full of Nynrah tech back to his quarters, only now beginning to answer Jutori's question. "Jutori, I don't exactly have time to make you something custom like I did for Kanohi," the engineer replied, noisily moving belongings about in his quarters. "But I do have some tools on hand that might be useful..." Knichou said, walking out of his quarters with what looked like a sledgehammer. "This was mainly used for driving home rivets during ship construction, but I think it might be more useful to you right now for bludgeoning." The Fe-Matoran handed the sledgehammer over, as everyone began moving to the cargo bay. Knichou opened the cargo bay doors before he left and locked down the bridge. Everyone still on board was now assembled in the cargo bay below, and before Knichou went down the ladder to join them, he addressed the assorted comrades from the upper deck. "Well everybody... it looks like this may have been our last journey together, even though for some of you it was your first. We all have our own callings, our own paths. I can't and won't stop you from doing what duty calls you the most. All I can do is hope our paths will cross again after this fateful day. Good luck, and may Mata Nui protect you all." His short address over, the ex-Ghost began to descend the ladder to the lower deck of the cargo bay.

Greetings, all! I recently decided to build the Toa Mata as LEGO BrickHeadz using LEGO Digital Designer (LDD), and then used Mecabrick's 3D-rendering software to create photo-realistic pictures of them. I've posted these as a project on LEGO Ideas, but I wanted to post them here as well for feedback. Thoughts?

IC Stannis | Coliseum (...there and back again) When the time was right as the Taku drew near to the Coliseum the Wanderer jettisoned the ancient toa canister and turned on the phasing feature with the flip of a switch. The fall was not long, as they were not far from the building to start, and it was mere seconds before he was inside the many bureaucratic centre of the city. The floors whizzed by like pages of a book one by one—he even saw Dume's face whiz by, featuring a gathering of toa, turaga, and the warlord Zataka (it was about time she showed up, he thought) and then they were gone—but he was not aiming for the Turaga's office as his destination. Four floors later, the canister met its mark. Though he had spoken of the virtue of expediency in getting to Dume to deliver the discs and fulfilling whatever fates Destiny had in mind, he had not intended to be among the first there, as his mission had been starkly different from his companions'. It was said the great discs were told to become toa by Turaga Dume's hand, and there were those on the Taku who made it their quest to be toa heroes, but Stannis' concern was not in who endured an apotheosis or controlling the conversations they had with the dear leader—his goal had always been one of knowledge, the trading of it, the obtaining of it, and exploring the secrets trapped in a web of shadows. The creation of toa was not a risk he concerned himself with, and if the disks were bait for Dume to focus on them and the matoran who brought them to him that meant the ancient machine was key information Stannis could focus on. Unfortunately for Stannis, he was old, and his memory on the intricacies of Metru Nui architecture was not among the sharpest. It was true that at one point long ago Floor 46 B held the private halls of the turaga. It was also true that fifteen thousand years ago a renovation was completed by a certain architect named Ambajes at the request of Dume, and the apartments were moved two floors up for better feng shui. Stannis had not visited the turaga since the renovation took place, and though he might have been aware of it in tasing at some point it was not relevant at the time and he had seemingly forgotten it. That is, until he exited the canister and came face-to-face with a vacant space with storage boxes where messy desks and empty hallways once were. He grumbled something about remembering the changes then, and busied himself with moving forward. Something tugged him upwards, and so he resolved to take the steps to the floors above him. Finding the stairwells were no issue, nor did he encounter any resistance as he ascended them. Once he reached Floor 28 B and checked the layout thence, he discovered a pair of vahki monitoring the paths. He ducked out of the way before they spotted him and vanished in the labyrinth of dimly lit conference rooms, dark and pristine from disuse which hid his grey cloaked self nicely. He stopped a moment, checked to see if the automatons had noticed anything, and then moved on after hearing nothing. Thankfully, Ambajes had not changed the layout of the new office floor too dramatically, and Stannis wondered if it was the man's idea at a con, pretending that his new design was somehow more favorable by an unseen spirit all in the name of getting rich off the teat of government. Whatever the case, Stannis was able to find his way rather easily, and soon arrived at the Turaga's private office. "Oh great, they're turned off," the old toa muttered as he approached one of the terminals with consternation. They all looked the same, emblazoned with the logo of some fruit behind them and with obsidian black screens that featured an imperceptible blip that changed location across the monitor which Stannis failed to notice. He spent a moment looking over the computers and took a deep breath. Feel, don't think. What is missing in this picture? He tapped his chin, unsure of what he needed to do, and tried talking to it to make it do something, then searched the exterior for a button of some sort; touching the screen itself did nothing. "How do I turn this thing on...?" he mumbled. He finally took his rucksack off to move with better ease and set the sack on the desk, in doing so accidentally moving the mouse. Instantly, the terminal flared to life, revealing the desktop image of a rolling green hill with bright blue skies with a banner at the top of the screen that said Welcome Turaga Doom-ah. Stannis jerked his head back in surprise, then shrugged. "Apparently all I had to do was touch the ball... thing... Mata Nui works in mysterious ways." Seizing the mouse, he explored the options on the unlocked computer. As it turned out, he and Dume were both old men with little technological affinity, leaving the entirety of the system's knowledge at Stannis' disposal. Quickly he opened his rucksack and withdrew from it a large hard drive, and then plugged it into the unlocked terminal. His contacts in the Archives had carefully instructed him what to do and broke it down to a set of steps on a notepad. There was only one thing underlined: "Drop app named Switcheroo into desktop." He pulled it from the device's menu and placed into the computer, and their programs in the filed quickly went to work executing their tasks, spreading information at key pre-set folders within the network and searching for keywords, which it then consolidated and input copies of those documents within the drive. None of that really made sense to Stannis, he was just following the directions given, but he did know how E-mail worked and he busied himself with checking Dume's correspondence logs. He scanned the first two lines of each one as he scrolled through the inbox: Stannis opened the last one, revealing a conversation between Dume and the inventor Nuparu. In it, Nuparu laid out some of his concerns on the machine, many of which Stannis already knew from witnessing the contents of the memory crystal, but according to the datestamp the message had been written before his venting to the crystal. It featured a back-and-forth between the two men, and as Stannis read through them he realized the moment Nuparu attempted to discuss the issues with the machine in person had not been the first time he spoke to Dume about them. In fact, it hadn't even been the second time. By the time Dume visited the workshop, the turaga was already incensed by Nuparu. Dume's replied were polite at first, but verged towards blunt and perfunctory towards the end, telling the inventor to stop asking questions, to follow his orders, and seemed angry at his pushing back. Whether that protestation was what caused Dume to decide to retire the famed inventor was not clear, but it seemed damning just the same. Stannis also searched for Dark Hunters and predictably found some further damning smutty messages featuring a dancing gif of Lariska, but nothing that indicated Dume had used his office's communications to have Nuparu murdered. That, Stannis found, was a relief. Just the same, he searched for his machine and relics but only discovered more messages from Nuparu and various reports from the Archives personnel, which again were informations the Wanderer already gleaned. The computer beeped gently, indicating the file transfers were complete, and he looked to his list of tasks for the next item. "Remove device safely from device," it said, with an arrow pointing to a small eject button. Stannis did as it said, and then removed the drive when a second chime indicated it was alright to do so, and promptly stashed it in his rucksack again. On the screen, a new dialog opened up. It was a loading line, already at 3%. Stannis locked the screen and walked away. The message was faint, affected both by the building's interior defenses and Stannis' own mental conditioning, but he thought his reply. .:I can. My task is done. How are the Matoran?:. He gathered his things and quietly headed for the secure stairwell again.

IC: Jutori - The Taku Jutori nodded as he received the sledgehammer from Knichou, his knees nearly buckling once he took hold of it, before quickly steeling himself and hefting it over his shoulder. "Thanks," he said, then grouped with his allies, taking position beside Tallea and Atamai. The start of his adventure with them seemed so long ago now. “Well, we’ve made it this far. Let’s see what lies ahead for us.” "Let's." Jutori was more nervous than he'd ever been before. The world outside was on the brink of collapse, and he was about to meet Turaga Dume himself and possibly receive the gift of Toa power. Then, it'd be up to him and his allies to stave off the end for the City of Legends. He could already feel the responsibility on his shoulders. Or maybe it was the hammer.

IC: The Untethered - Coliseum Underbelly The three-that-were-one-that-were-many continued to change as they stalked the corridors, their fused form refusing to entirely settle. The sound of scraping metal and sizzling steel reverberated in its wake, as its armour shifted and reassembled, flickering filaments and minuscule slivers scuttling constantly across its carapace, obscuring the form of the flesh-and-blood being beneath. They descended, ever downwards, until there was no more down to descend. But there had to be more. They could feel their whole greater whole awaiting its reawakening. The Dead God had to be somewhere, and that somewhere was, or had been, accessible once. It would be again. The Kaita reached outwards and downwards with its powers of magnetism and metal, searching the surrounding walls and floor for any sense of hinges or mechanisms that might betray the location of a concealed passageway.

IC: Okuo - Coliseum "Well, I'll be." Okuo muttered under his breath as the two toa of light made themselves apparent, one a new toa, the other having disguised herself as a toa of water among them, though that ruse had been up long before they'd gotten to the coliseum. Then he heard Dume talking to him, and his gaze shifted to the turaga, a sigh of trepidation escaping his lips. "I'm honored, Turaga Dume, but so far only three of the disks have been turned in. I'm certain the other three are on their way right now into your hands, carried by matoran deserving of this power of heroes. I'm content to allow them to go first." IC: Aradra - Coliseum The newly minted toa of light turned to face her fellow Av-Toa with surprise underneath her mask, her glowing white eyes expressing curiosity and excitement, two feelings she hadn't felt for almost as long as she could recall. "Toa of light... we are both... toa of light?" Aradra nodded and looked down at her hand, at her arm, at the bronze metallic armour that adorned her now regal form. There was a faint shimmer to it, a glow that exuded from the ornamental metal. "Yes... that feels... right. I would be honoured to receive your tutelage."

IC: Sans, Colosseum Prison While before it seemed to Sans that he formed some odd sort of company when he had grown several stories tall and was carrying three Ko-Matoran across Le-Metru, now an odder company had assembled inside this thankfully-large elevator. They stood in awkward silence, and Sans considered the comedic merits of growing himself to be bigger than the big blue guy, who was in cuffs and held by some Vahki, so Sans at least felt a bit at ease. Once the elevator came to rest, Sans let the Vahki and Waveahk lead the way. After some time, they entered the prison level, and saw immediate carnage. One cell was smashed open, and several broken Vahki lay on the floor. Sans bent over to handle a piece of the broken wall, yet immediately coiled his hand back. "It's still hot. This was fresh. Looks like the big guy wasn't lying." Sans pointed at one of the Vahki restraining Waveahk with his staff. "Report our findings to... all your other units, or whatever it is you things do to communicate. Let as many police robots as possible know to be on the look out. Whatever did this couldn't have gotten far." Sans then turned to address Kohara. "I guess we should split up a bit and see if we can't figure out which way this headless monster went. I'm gonna go peek at the other cells and see if any other prisoners saw anything helpful. You, uh, do whatever you think is best." He leaned in closer, and spoke in a more hushed tone, "and keep an eye on the big guy. I still don't trust him. If it comes down to it, I think we can take him though, huhuhuhu." So Sans walked down towards the other cages. The sound of weeping caught his ear, coming from the cell next to the shattered one. He tapped his glass against the field, and hollered at what he realized was a fellow Turaga! "Hey! Old timer! I hope they didn't lock you up for taking too long to cross the street, or else I might be joining you, huhuhuhu!" OOC: Sans interacting with Turaga Lhikan @Unreliable Narrator

I'm glad you're liking it so far! These gifs own, thanks for sharing them! This time, we're taking a closer look at the Toa Stones!

IC: Zecrillia - Great Furnace Exit "I almost don't want to give it up..." It was silly, she knew. While she did have her own potential use for the disk - it would power one heck of a weapon, she was sure - Old Dume probably knew far better than she what it was good for... and he'd probably be pretty sore at her if she took the time to design and build a weapon that was enough of a work of art to befit it when he seemed to want them now this instant immediately. And if she would be suitably compensated, well... "But you're right." What was she even agreeing to? He hadn't given her any advice. "I'm sure Dume can put this to better use than I could. He sounded pretty urgent earlier, didn't he?" She looked quizzically at the Swordsman's implication that he would be going his own separate way. Seemed odd to her, that he didn't want some kind of reward for his trouble; but then, that was Toa, wasn't it? So unprofitably noble... she kind of respected them for it, even if it seemed an unsustainable way to live, to her. "So what are you gonna do? Stay here and protect more people from the zombies?" Actually, now that she thought of it, the sounds of combat seemed to be coming from more directions than she would have anticipated. The Vortixx woman frowned, wondering what was going on in the district - what they'd missed while deep in the Great Furnace. She couldn't know that what she was hearing was the sounds of an army marching on Metru Nui, and simply assumed that the zombie problem, or whatever it was, was getting worse. IC: Jabali - Dume's Office Well, she'd been completely forgotten. Which was probably for the best, honestly. Jabali had done her job; she'd not only reported the Dark Hunters' treachery, but she'd saved Turaga Dume's life (!) into the bargain, and that was far, far more than the Po-girl had expected to be able to say when she had woken up that morning. Since then, the room had filled up with disk hunters - on top of her, the Turaga himself, several Vahki, and the tall lady who Jabali still didn't know quite where she fit in. The overseer had honestly been quite happy to fade into the background once Dume had started handing out Toa power, not having a clue how or where she fit into this, only knowing that she would very much like to NOT get caught up in the action by mistake. She was no Toa, had never had any dreams of becoming one. All she wanted was a nice, orderly sculpture field at the end of the day, and she would be plenty satisfied by that. The suggestion that Metru Nui was under attack, however, sat fearfully with her. What was happening out there? She didn't know, couldn't begin to guess; but if the Barraki army was moving on Po-Metru, she only knew that she should be back there, defending her territory with every ounce of strength she could muster. No matter that she'd be cut down in an instant; the sculpture fields were her home, her life, she should be there to protect them... And where was she? Stuck in Dume's office, unwilling to call attention to herself by asking to leave, watching as Matoran were - for lack of a better term - zapped into Toa. And then someone else came crashing in on them with a bizarre warning that threw everyone into action. As the newcomer surrendered, the other Turaga (the not-Dume one) and the titan started barking out orders, and Jabali finally decided that she wasn't being much use to anyone back here. She tentatively raised a hand. "Excuse me, Turaga...s? Where do you want me? I want to help, if I can."

IC: Turaga Dume | Coliseum, Dume’s Office His heartlight nearly stopped when the mutated steltian burst through the floor to ceiling glass windows facing the balcony encircling the top floor of the Coliseum. The glass scattered across the ground, scratching the floors and ruining his favorite carpet placed carefully in front of the large desk. What he said left him deeply concerned. There were no monsters in the prisons of the Coliseum as far as Turaga Dume knew. Zataka knowing how to operate the desk as well proved concerning. He was sure he’d locked the computer when he left. Or did screensaver mode not lock it after all? What else could she have found since her arrival before him here? Her snooping was beginning to prove dangerous. The radio receiver on the desk crackled to life from Coliseum Control and an airship identified as the Taku. The name seemed familiar. Had Jabali mentioned something about it? Ah, yes, the Great Disk of Po-Metru. Then if they had two Great Disks all that was left… was Onu-Metru or Ta-Metru. Turaga Dume frowned in thought. He knew the Barraki to be fearsome warlords. Hopefully whoever found the disk in Onu-Metru Ta-Metru could make it to the Coliseum in time. “Forgive me,” He said at last to the assembled group of matoran, toa, titans, vahki, and the new arrival on the ground. His voice sounding foreign in his own office after so long in silence. “But I am not immune to planning. You are all here for a reason. Let me tell you. “The Great Disks are necessary to save Metru-Nui. I’ve said it many times, and I will continue to do so. But they are part of a greater plan, one which requires all of you toa. We have a chance to reverse everything, to change the course of destiny. The Barraki want us to split our attention, to rush off to our individual metrus and sink into the mud of an unwinnable fight. Zataka is right. We can shut off or turn on certain parts of the city to make their progress towards the Coliseum more treacherous. We can deploy vahki and stall them and move the matoran to safety as quickly as possible. But for you, new heroes, I ask only that you give me a little more time to assemble the Great Disks. When I do, we will have all the time in the world. “Turaga Sans is right, if what this man says is true and there are monsters in the prisons that should be investigated. Although his council may be filled with laughter, he does speak truths. Kohara, you know your powers. Would you investigate with him? And you,” Dume pointed to Waveahk, “will take them back to where you saw these monsters. Vahki will escort you, and your hands will be bound. In the future, knock.” Turaga Dume looked at the assembled faces and then remembered the one he’d left out of the bigger picture: Jabali. “Jabali, would you be so kind as to kind as to guide the members of the airship Taku back here?”

IC [Zataka, Coliseum - Dume’s Office]: "He sounds nervous." the titan said, satisfied.

IC [Zataka, Coliseum - Dume’s Office]: The titan was still glaring at the Steltian when the other Turaga suddenly decided he should take charge of the situation. By throwing a tantrum and his element at her. Water was dripping down the extensions on the back of her head and running into the collar of her armor. She let out a soft sigh, quietly counted to three and then turned her head, slowly, deliberately, until the intense gaze directed at Waveahk before now met that of the old man. :I have been patient with you and your antics, under the circumstances. I am warning you: my patience is wearing thin, Turaga.: she replied. The mental projection of her voice was sharp and ice cold. :If you desire my assistance, stay your powers and use your words. Do not presume to dictate my actions and use that fabled ‘wisdom’ your kind supposedly possesses before you lead your protégés headlong into unknown danger.: Judging by their previous interactions he was most likely to respond in typical fashion, so she brought up her hand where he could clearly see it, still charged with energy, to leave no doubt she had no qualms about disciplining an old man if forced. :Is that understood?: She finally broke eye contact and looked to the freshly made Toa. The situation was chaotic and they probably felt overwhelmed, to a certain degree. More shouting and rushed decisions were not the answer here. She spoke firmly and reassuringly: “Multiple fronts have opened. The city's defenses will need to be coordinated, the front lines need reinforcements to hold the league’s advance and drive the Barakki back and there is a potential new threat down below. There is a choice before you where to best use your newfound power. What will it be?”

IC: Waveahk (The Coliseum, Dume's Office) "Down in the prison levels! There's a Toa there with no head! There's something down there! It wants to kill your God! Also something called 'Korruhn', but mostly your God!"

Just for reference, I was picturing Ka’s acid as less potent than a Lehvak’s, since those bugs can freaking melt protosteel, and that seems super unbalanced. Also that maybe her acid glows like phosphorus paint, because she’s part Av-Matoran? It’s not charged with elemental light energy though, it just glows. It wouldn’t be useful against shadow. Edit: Dang I might have to go back and reread Varxii’s scenes, @That Matoran with a Vahithat was a good moment.

IC [Zataka, Coliseum - Dume’s Office]: What do we do now? There was an urge in Zataka, to take her Sword and her Kordak, jump down to the streets below and wade into the midst of the Barakki’s hordes and bury them under their own armies. But there were other options first, things that could be done from right here she hoped. She moved over to Dume’s desk and started pressing buttons. Her time waiting for the Turaga and searching his office had given her enough time to get a good look at the display panel and its controls. She brought up a graphic of the city power-grid, seeing more and more sections marked red as the invaders took the infrastructure out bit by bit. “We could turn the city against the invaders, remote override the chutes, Rahi archives, hydroelectric plants and - “ The window shattered and the large form what might have been a Steltian burst into the room, shouting. Zataka didn’t hear the words - she moved instead, her sword gliding out of its sheath, the massive blade leveling at the intruder. Her free hand crackled with energy. The first to talk were the Vahki: “UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS. SURRENDER.”

IC: Varxii - Ko-Metru That was it; she couldn't do this anymore. Varxii had lingered towards the back of the group as more and more Matoran were sent to meet Mata Nui, silently cringing in sympathy for every life snuffed out. She'd never cared much for Ko-Matoran, granted; the ones back in her home village had always had their heads in the clouds, while she saw herself as much more down-to-earth and practical... but even if she didn't like them, she'd never wanted to see them mown down like this. Every murder seemed to scream at her, condemning her for standing by and not helping them. At the very least, Varxii supposed, she hadn't taken any lives herself, but... That was precious little comfort. She moved as one walking through a nightmare, dazed by the carnage and bloodshed all around her. She hated it. She should do something. She didn't know what to do. Great Beings forgive her for letting this go so far. Her gaze drifted downwards as her foot nudged something. A Matoran lay at her feet; a scholar with bloodstained robes, whose mask had been carved clean in two by a blow that had done a gruesome number on her skull at the same time. Still, the little one seemed to just barely cling to life; one icy eye flickered up to regard Varxii, and the mingled desperation and pain and hope socked the Vo-Toa like a punch in the gut. The poor Matoran's mouth moved; and, heedless of the army around her, Varxii crouched closer to hear her faint words. "T-Toa... you came... you're saving u..." The scholar's heartlight flickered out as she succumbed to her wounds. Varxii remained crouched by the body, staring at the corpse of a Matoran who had looked at her and seen, not another League soldier, not a warrior out for glory, but a Toa: a hero come to rescue them. She'd never been a hero, not really. Back on her home island, sure, she'd fended off Rahi and raiders and whatever else had come their way; but her motivations had been selfish, stemming purely from the desire for a good fight, and the satisfaction of kicking some rear. Her former-fellow villagers had well known that, too, and while their disdain for her eagerness into combat had been very apparent to her, Varxii honestly hadn't cared. She didn't need to be seen as a hero to feel good about herself, anyway. And yet. Here. A dying Matoran she'd never known had seen in her what no-one, not even herself, had. She was supposed to be a hero. And if she was all about the fight, well then. It was time she proved both of those things. Up ahead, she could see the back of Pridak's head; he was occupied talking to Mazor, and probably wasn't watching what one little Toa in his ranks was up to. As much as Varxii would have liked to simply collapse the balcony under the warlord and end his reign of terror there and then... there would be better times and places. Right now, what she needed to do was... Taking in hand the cleaved mask of the first Matoran who had seen her as a hero - a white great-shaped Ruru, she noticed detachedly - and silently wishing the little one a safe journey into eternity, the Vo-Toa beat a hasty, though hopefully surreptitious, retreat back to the street outside, muttering an excuse under her breath to any leaguer who saw her. In such an enclosed space as that knowledge tower, Varxii knew, she would have been able to do little before getting squashed like a bug. But from outside, maybe... Maybe she could link up with the defenders of Metru Nui, pass on what she knew of the Barraki's aims. And if she couldn't, then still... Varxii the one-woman army could at least pick a good point to make final stand against Pridak's advance. Either way, her time with the League was at an end; because she was going to honour that scholar's dying thought. She was going to stand up for the Matoran here like a true hero would. And if she got killed in the process, well. She would just have to come to terms with that after the fact. ((ooc: Is anyone else in Ko-Metru who isn't an immediate part of Pridak's army? Because if so, I'll see about making sure Varxii runs into you ^^)) ((ooc 2: Zecrillia and Jabali posts to come later; I just had this one finished and wanted to get it up, to get things moving with this girl ^^)) (ooc 3: Fun fact: that Matoran was based on another character idea that I considered for this RP before I settled on making Jabali instead.))

OOC: @BULiKdoes Kanohi’s upgraded mask now had a short range radio built into it? That way he can contact the group with what he finds? Or was there anyone way he was meant to contact them? IC Kanohi - the Taku Kanohi swallowed, feeling a bit lightheaded. Not from grappling around, he was used to more violent lurching but … he felt like he had misspoken. He … he knew the Matoran had to be protected, that was the right thing to do. But he … he didn’t want to bail on the Toa of Knichou. It was … he felt like one of the fabled Kaita, one strained to the point that they were about to split into three parts. Finally he squeaked out, “I-I-I will look for Turaga Dume‘s Office.” He … he could do that first at least, whether or not Dume was misguided, he was a Turaga, and the leader of Metru-Nui. And the device, it was important. It was the least he could do for the Toa and the Nynrah Ghost Knichou. He stowed away his disk launcher, he … he would only scare folks with it drawn. With a leap he lunged off the Taku, his armor jingling as the wind rustled them. With a blast he fired a sphere of gravity at the Coliseum, pulling him towards it in a rush of force. He then fired from his other hand, letting him swing in motion. He hurled across the side of the Coliseum, traversing along the walls and windows like some sort of hyperactive Fikou. His heartlight flickered underneath his armor, a frantic beacon as he searched for the office of the Turaga.

Plasma Beam and Ice Beam, designed by myself Wave Beam and Charge Shot designed by StevetheSquid/Grayson M.

Admiral Jaldamir Admiral Jaldamir by Mohamed Marei, on Flickr "A noble and valiant commander whose sole purpose is to bring to justice anyone who dares to stand against the crown. Has a long-standing enmity towards criminals who fare the seas, especially Pirate Lord Dreadwind and his band of miscreants". Admiral Jaldamir by Mohamed Marei, on Flickr A reimagining of an old character I had built way back in 2015. Since the moment I lay eyes on the kanohi Iden I've always pictured it belonging to an elegant, gentlemanly-looking character. And I felt the same way about those Praetorian Guard cloth skitrts; as soon as I saw them, I knew I had to build a redcoat-wearing character. Revamping Jaldamir gave me the answer. Safe to say I managed to pull this aesthetic off? I'll let you all be the judge of that!

In which an old man is confused. ... But which old man?

IC: Turaga Dume | Coliseum, Office "It's a simple spell but quite unbreakable," Dume replied. "Smiths are able to fuse disks with the heat of the Great Furnace. I have a shortcut is all."

IC: Okuo - Coliseum Okuo peered, trying to make sense of Dume's words. A way to fix a mistake he'd made he couldn't fix? What kind of... And then Okuo's mind started racing, leaping, bouncing around and galloping. The disks. The legendary Great Disks of Metru-Nui. Fabled for being the only level 9 disks in existence. Level 7 disks were used for Noble masks, level 8 for Great masks... so a level 9 disk alone would make for a tier above Great. But there was no tier above Great... not unless... Legendary Kanohi? Yes... that was possible. Myths spoke of a Legendary Mask that did not yet exist. It was mostly just fairy tales, as most mask makers would attest, but standing here, now, in this grand office, hearing the Turaga of Metru-Nui speak of ways of fixing mistakes you couldn't fix, and that he was gathering all six of the Great Disks... and the fact that he was combining them into one disk? "Wait... wait wait wait... no... you couldn't..." Okuo's mind drifted to those science fiction audio novels he listened to from time to time. To fix past mistakes before they happened? "You're not... talking about time travel... are you??" What a grand and intoxicating fantasy, but these thoughts were quickly interrupted as a new group entered into Dume's office. "Oh, well would you look at that?" IC: Matrak - Ko-Metru "Well, yeah! I don't know who you are, or what you are, or what your little army here is! Honestly I don't really know anything about this place! What I do know how ever is you didn't answer my question! By what right do you carry out this massacre?!" Matrak stood there unwavering in the face of the great Pridak and his army. IC: Arkius - Coliseum Arkius shuffled through a shelf of masks looking for one he could use. This one was powerless. This one was noble. Aha! A great mask. A Calix by the look of it. This would serve him well in the coming trials in lieu of his old faithful. He was going to miss that mask, and his missing eye was going to be a constant reminder of his loss, but now was not the time to mourn inanimate things. Lives were at stake. Lives were being destroyed right now. As Arkius equipped the Calix and felt his aching body re-energise to his fullest potential, he thought about what Nale said. Something to tell him. Apparently it couldn't wait. Walking out of the shop to his compatriot, Arkius gave her an inquisitive look. "What is it you wish to speak about?" IC: Ardoku - Great Temple A blast of light hit the toa of plasma's eyes dead on. A blinding flash of light. Ardoku was not impressed. Being a toa of plasma, his eyes were naturally protected against bright light. Where others might have felt their eyes wash over with an intense white, Ardoku had no need to even avert his gaze. He could see the toa of twilight clear as day, and with a deft manoeuvre, the expert swordsman swiftly turned his blade in his grasp and thrust it down toward the hand emanating the bright radiance.

IC: Back home, Irna had heard stories of the Coliseum. It was the Crown of Metru-Nui, a massive tower that loomed over the city like a king in robes, serene and imperious in equal measure. It was said to have dwarfed even the tallest tower in the rest of the city, which themselves dwarfed even the highest peaks of the Northern Continent. She had heard stories passed down from merchants to farmers to the people of her village, and even in the dread of the invasion -- your invasion, a little voice in her head growled -- Irna had felt a flutter of anticipation at seeing the tower with her own eyes. That had been a mistake, evidently. Spear firmly grasped in both hands, Irna followed the Matoran Nuju and Mazor down into the supposed underbelly of the Coliseum, careful to avoid touching any of the silver ... fluid ... that was streaming down the tunnel. She didn't like this place. She didn't particularly like any of this. "What do you mean," she said to the Matoran, "the true purpose of the Coliseum?" -Void

IC Ka - Onu-Metru, Archives The beast reared back and from its pincers spewed a bright fluorescent fluid. The blast splashed into the Zamor sphere, rupturing the sphere and splattering glowing acid everywhere like fireworks on Naming Day. As the ground hissed and smoked, the creature made a shriek like the squeaking of pulleys, before clattering towards the Skakdi. She couldn’t roll like a Bohrok, destiny denied her that, instead scurrying like a Ussal on the beach. As she ran her pincers pulled back, and spewed acid at him.

IC: Nuju | Ko-Metru The researcher adjusted the telescopic lens of his mask, staring out into the distance over the region as he remembered the right path. The war going on around Nuju didn’t seem to bother him. Since Mazor met the matoran the most notable thing about him was his stoicism. “This way then,” Nuju said and began the march on foot toward the Coliseum. He led Mazor and Irna through the crossing ice bridges between towers, focusing on back streets or small hallways without windows to the outside as much as possible. Eventually, the arrived at a circular grate with a lock on it. “These electrical maintenance tunnels lead to the Coliseum. I know the way.” Nuju said and pulled out a pair of bar cutters, clipping the lock off with practice. “Come along.” The tunnels were not exactly well lit. In fact they were rather dark. Nuju led them on nonetheless, a burning candle stuck to the top of his mask being the only way to track time in the echoing tunnels. Eventually, when Mazor began to wonder if Pridak had actually sent him on a mission to get lost forever, Nuju stopped at a blank wall. “This is it, The Coliseum’s true purpose lies parallel to this wall. Be careful though, once I open it we’ll have to avoid the miasma. Here, take this. It’s dangerous to go without it down here.” Nuju pulled out several respirators and filters, tossing them to the rest of the party. Then he took a kanoka, loaded it into his launcher, and fired it at the wall. There was a crumbling sound as the structure weakened, then burst inwards towards the party. A sickly green vapor began pouring into the access tunnel and something sticky like the blood in their own protodermis bodies pooled out into the maintenance hall. “Don’t breathe it!” Nuju shouted as he put his respirator on and plugged in the filter, then jumped through the opening. When the rest followed, they found themselves in a very strange world without a single inorganic thing in sight. Nuju snuffed out his candle and pulled out a lightstone. It was a hallway. Or an Artery. They couldn’t tell. Organics covered the interior of the chamber, and silvery protodermis drained slowly in a trickling stream in the center of the floor. The steam led down a soft decline. Each step they took felt like walking on a half-inflated balloon. Two silvery bohrok rolled into view, ignoring the party and instead immediately focusing on fusing the open hole and patching the damage. Nuju pointed toward the downwards direction and began to slowly walk into the darkness away from the automatons as if there was nothing unusual in the world... IC: Reliable Narrator | Onu-Metru, Archives Ka’s dropping from the stasis cube frightened the soldier. He came to the archives with Mantax’s forces, but he was not from Mantax’s home. He was a skakdi who came from Zakaz, tried to escape the chaos that always followed his people, and now here he was letting out his pent up frustration on a bunch of rahi in glass cases. “Karz,” he muttered. “This one talks.” Loading another round into his zamor launcher he backed up down the tunnel towards the elevators now under Mantax’s control and fired a green zamor. He hoped the battery acid inside would hit and make enough of a statement. He knew upstairs were the main force and Mantax himself. Mantax's army was mostly foot soldiers, but some kikanalo steeds had been brought through the portal for Mantax's private hunting guard.

IC: Sans, Dume's Office Doorway Sans stepped out of the way of the Po-Matoran as she ran down the hallway to summon the new-newcomers. "I'll be gone and back, like the tide itself, huhuhuhuhu! Follow me, Kohara! Your presence really brightens my day, huhuhuhuhu! Cartographer, if you're not coming, please watch our icy friend, here. And wait for me before you leave, if you will. If I have to run to catch up to y'all, my staff shall smack you like a raging rapids, huhuhuhuh! Vahki, bring the buff blue guy along, as well." So out of the office, Turaga Sans led the way as he, Kohara, and a cuffed Waveahk flanked by several Vahki descended down towards the prison levels, hoping to discover what this headless monster talk was all about. The door was left open, in case any others wanted to join. OOC: @~Xemnas~ @Toru Nui

GM IC: Demolitions Team - Black Spike Mountains. The Skrall squinted at the badge for a moment, before nodding. "Very well. Tell us of this attack on Tesara."

Varxii has been a good read since day 1.

IC [ Zataka - Coliseum, Dume's Office]: The titan took a step forward, glaring at the intruder. Her blade didn't waver. "Explain."

And yet you still felt the need to let everybody know in the most snarky and passive-aggressive manner possible?

IC: Skorm (Ga-Metru) "I have never killed an innocent; only those who have resisted violently, or others who would raise arms against the League. When I joined..." Skorm paused, frowning in puzzlement. When had he joined the League? The first thing he remembered was... Skorm's head throbbed, and he winced before clearing his mask of emotion. "No matter." The matoran in the Great Temple scurried past him. The other toa let them pass. It was good they were out of the way; it was sunset, and Skorm would be at the height of his power. He charged his right hand with shadow energy and his left with light. "I gave you fair warning. Mata Nui, may you forgive me for this violence I am about to inflict." The setting suns were in Skorm's eyes, and the shadows cast by the three were long... long enough to touch Skorm. The Twi-Toa dissipated into shadow, gliding toward Ardoku. Half a moment later he materialized, crouching, holding a ball of light in his hand. He willed it to explode in a harsh flash of blinding light. OOC: @Onaku @Eyru @Toru Nui

Name: Taja Species: Toa of Sonics Faction: Metru-Nui Description: Taja stands at average height for a Toa, with a slender black body and dark gray armour. Her yellow eyes shine from behind a gray Huna, and she carries a Kanoka launcher strapped to her back. Background/Occupation: Taja used to live in Ko-Metru, whose quiet streets and even quieter inhabitants suited her well, being sensitive to loud noise as all De-Matoran are. She worked as a scholar in the Knowledge Towers, where she studied the stars and translated the work of other scholars. However, unlike many scholars, she enjoyed more lighthearted pursuits in her spare time, such as disk surfing. When the Krom Sphere changed the skies, Taja travelled to Ga-Metru to consult with the Astrologist, Nixie. She met Okuo and Kohara, and they joined forces to recover Ga-Metru's Great Disk. Upon successfully obtaining the disk and returning it to Turaga Dume, Taja was transformed into a Toa. Powers/Abilities: Taja's sensitivity to sound is both a weakness and strength. Her enhanced hearing allows her to listen over long distances and to hear sounds that would go undetected by others. As a Toa of Sonics, Taja can control sound in all its forms, from imitating noises to unleashing powerful blasts and beams. She can absorb sounds to create silence, manipulate soundwaves to weaken structures, and use sonar to "see" without her eyes. She's a fair shot with a Kanoka but prefers disk surfing to sharpshooting. As a Matoran, she learned to surf at high speed through the chutes and canals of Metru Nui. Equipment: Taja wears a great Huna, the Mask of Concealment. This mask has been modified to include silencers over her ears, which can be manually adjusted to allow more or less sound through. Her Huna also sports a custom lens over one eye that she can activate to enhance her vision, which aided in her work studying the stars. She carries a Kanoka launcher strapped to her back, as well as a small collection of various Kanoka disks. Flaws: Like all De-Toa, Taja is sensitive to her own element. To avoid noise, she tends to isolate herself, and speaks as little as possible. She's slow to trust others, preferring to keep her own counsel. Being a new Toa, she is unfamiliar with her new powers and has limited control over them.

IC: Turaga Dume | Coliseum Office Taja offered the Great Disk of Ga-Metru and Turaga Dume accepted it, fusing it together with the disk made from those found in Ko-Metru and Le-Metru. The fused disk made of three of the Great Disks from across Metru-Nui no longer showed an origin, power, and strength. Instead the protodermis glowed with a soft purple tint. “You’re right Turaga Sans. While I can provide the toa energies stored in this necklace I will be honest in saying I had no knowledge of the elements themselves being changed. I felt nothing odd with our av-toa friend.” What he didn’t say was how he felt when he first used the power. He didn’t mention the strange energy that touched him, and why he used so much force to repel it back into the toa’s arm. That was not his fate to tangle with. “Alright Taja, you have shown bravery in recovering this Great Disk. I give you the power of toahood,” Dume said, placing a hand on the de-matoran’s heartlight and shouting the power into her. As she staggered back, changed forever, Turaga Dume flinched. The necklace’s glow began to dim. Dume noticed the Ta-Matoran Kohara introduced as Okuo continued to hang back, even when Taja found the courage to step forward. “Are you ready, Okuo?” OOC: @Eyru, congrats on the toafication

I love these Brickheadz! I would pay a lot of money for them when Lego Ideas turn them into actual Lego sets! Anyway, I talked about the Lego Ideas projects based on Bionicle here:

Ripping the sprites from this game is a tedious process, and I'm not planning on ripping anything I don't find interesting or notable, I'm sorry to say. If you want background assets, you could probably cobble something together from the Quest for the Toa maps on BS01. As far as sprites go, you could try Chimoru R or Rayg or something? You'd have to do some custom spriting if you didn't want to make a sidescroller, but it would give you a base to work from, at least. Anyway, speaking of interesting and notable sprites: here's the Brakas!

IC: Mazor-Ko-Metru "Irna is the only one I know enough to trust. Ostrox is probably going to follow whether I want him to or not. But we could probably use at least one more person." He began to scan the crowd looking for anyone that might be useful. OOC: Last call for any leaguers that would like to join.

IC: Pridak | Ko-Metru Pridak found Ko-Metru to be a vexing test of his abilities as a conqueror. The scholars of the stars somehow predicted this day would come. Perhaps the Ko-Matoran who lived in the icy knowledge towers were used to hardship: harsh winds, great falls, social isolation outside of work. His army marched from one tower to the next, securing each building, proposing The Question, and finding very few interested in disobeying their astronomical readings or laying down their faith in the Great Spirit. They predicted the fall, and many were determined to fulfill the prophecy by joining their brothers and sisters in death. Eventually, Pridak grew tired of the same inflexible end to each knowledge tower. Waving Mazor closer to him, Pridak said; “You, it’s time we make use of what you carry.” Pridak began walking his warsuit toward an open balcony with a view of the Coliseum. The suns were almost fully set, leaving a purple and orange sunset on the sky. Once there, he continued; “While we continue to distract Dume’s forces, take the Krom Sphere to the Coliseum. Have Nuju guide you inside, and go down as far as you can. He says there’s a secret access tunnel to a place called the Core Processor--” “The Cortex, actually,” Nuju chimed in. “The Cor...tex.” Pridak repeated, eyes stealy. What he would give to freely murder this researcher for speaking out of turn. Unfortunately, Nuju was still useful. “Follow him to the Cortex. He’ll explain more from there. Take those you trust with you Mazor. I will follow behind once I have claimed Ko-Metru as fully mine.” He placed a hand on Mazor’s shoulder and lowered his head down to eye level with the undead toa. “You will not fail me,” Pridak said, then shifted away and continued commanding his troops. “Alright then,” the matoran named Nuju said after Pridak had moved on. “It’s you, me, and who else?” IC: Ehlek | Le-Metru Zaliyah's rhotuka struck true, damaging the chute converter box and starting a chain reaction through the open air power substation. Ehlek laughed happily as he watched the electricity arc through the air between boxes and smelled the ozone wafting towards them. "Oh, good shot, good shot! Everyone, do what she did. Let's tear these chutes to the ground."

IC: Reliable Narrator | Coliseum The three Untethered finally joined into one. The thoughts of their separate cores, and the distinction of individuality, finally disappeared: they were free to just be as they were meant to be: a singular entity, a creation of the world and not of it. The Kaita became the host of many, the new individual self, and the spirit of something greater. Each step down the stairwell it could barely fit inside brought it closer to another part of itself, another something separate that needed to come home. The Kaita eventually met its match. The prison floors ended. The rows of prisoners quietly cowering in their cells vanished. The vahki could not be crushed further. There was nothing but solid slabs of protodermis below its feet. But the call continued. Deeper. Further down. In the core of the city, hiding and asleep. They could feel it below them. On the ground floor of the coliseum stood Waveahk unsure of what to do or where to go. He watched the panicked matoran working their way slowly toward the central elevator core of the building through the rapidly closing open air market that sprung up in the open floor plan during the day. He knew soon enough he’d need to get out of the way or face a wave of knee-high pests. Then he felt it, the tap on his shoulder and the hot breath on the back of his neck. “Up,” he heard echo in his mind. “Up.” Far above the Coliseum, in the air, the Taku received a response; “Airship Taku this is Coliseum Control. Negative on your request. Land in parade grounds by Ga-Metru quadrant. Over.”

You thought it was Kanohi, but it was I - Dece!

Of course Bionicle's return would be nice, but I would also like to see Chima come back. It had potential, which needs to be tapped instead of being left to die. The theme could potentially undergo a soft reboot, which would focus on the world beyond Chima proper (which we saw at the end of the final episode). Many stories could be told in those lands, and focus may or may not be shifted back to the main "island" if need be. Anyway, now you have my thoughts on this.

the biggest for me is Bionicle (obv.)! the Adventures of Johnny Thunder/Orient Expedition woud be nice as well! there's my two cents! lol

I think my favourite thing is the way you've recreated Kopaka's mask. I would have thought a rounded shape like the Akaku would be difficult to convert to the blocky Brickheadz form; but you've got it looking absolutely spot-on... the best out of all of them, I'd say, incorporating some really clever parts usage there The way you've constructed the front of their torsos is neat, too; capturing a simplified version of the Toa torso shape is a really clever idea, and I particularly like the suggestion of the original gears displayed at the top too ^^

Flickr | Instagram

Lol yes of course Piraka rap! That's true, I could definitely see Lewa and Pohatu jamming to the same music. I'm picturing Pohatu having a Star Lord-esque mixtape of classic songs for some reason

That makes sense. I guess I can accept that explanation. I mean, clear trans at least works with any colour. I got around to building Ketar and Pohatu just now and I have some things to say about them. I liked Ketar's design building it, and I'm glad they went for a scorpion but the final look is lackluster. The gimmick is also the worst of the creatures and the colour scheme is ridiculously messy. Pohatu is better than I expected, with a great mask and shoulder designs, but I really don't like the colour distribution. The addition of tan is nice but the lack of orange-brown in key locations really hurts his unified colour scheme. Weapon is extremely standard as well. Course, the Unity design isn't cohesive and they don't complement each other well at all. That being said, they are not bad sets. None of these new Toa or Creatures are. They are probably the best bunch of Toa sets we've ever had and I know I said that last year, but these Uniters have really surpassed all my expectations. I mean, I expected to get maybe one or two sets but I ended up getting all of them. -NotS

???

Look who arrived on Saturday! But wait, there's more! I've already been fiddling around with modding my duplicate Storm Beast to my specifications. I'll take photos when he's fixed up EDIT: The full range is now available on S@H! I've just ordered UtD (and a Power Functions motor)

Just gonna throw up a few pictures I took earlier. If anyone was wondering, you CAN actually cheat a little to attach the Corruption Masks in a way that lets you open and close the Beast mouths. Both the top and bottom jaws swing independently, which means the whole thing is a little loose, but it's a nice display option if you don't care about questionable connections. Doesn't quite work as well for Umarak though, unfortunately.