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IC: Tuyet | Some desert we’ll see again on Monday. A familiar sun-kissed plateau stretched out before Atamai in what appeared to be early afternoon judging by the single sun in the sky. An unfamiliar plateau stretched out before Tuyet. Concern spread on her face, then rage. She kicked a small pebble off the side of the cliff. It fell for a very long time. A nearby frilled lizard skittered under a larger boulder to hide from the toa standing in the desert wasteland. A soft and warm wind fluttered the needles on a plump and stocky cactus growing on the plateau’s edge. Atamai realized now on closer inspection Tuyet’s clothing had small tears in it, and little metal studs pushing out from the tears. They were dull, the same color as the leather, and so didn’t prove visible in the evening light of Metru-Nui. When Atamai spoke Tuyet whirled on him. He smelled roses, smoke, and vanilla. “Nothing personal?” Tuyet spat, her eyes squinting in the sunshine at Atamai while her hand kept a vice grip on his wrist. Wherever Atamai jumped next, Tuyet followed. “Yeah this is so not what should be happening right now. Did you even think about where you were going? The matoran are dying and you want to go maroon me in a desert? That Dark Hunter is literally destroying our chance at fixing home. Your vibe sucks man. Sucks. Alexa? Alexa play…” She paused, realizing what she was about to say wouldn’t work out here without reception. IC: Pridak | Ko-Metru Pridak’s command met Varxii’s betrayal as she turned her allegiance. He looked out at the toa of lightning in the distance joining forces with the new arrivals on the far side of the icty bridge between the knowledge towers and scowled. He thought for sure he’d kept her on a tighter leash. Letting her leave on Carapar’s errand to the islands South of Destral must have given her a chance to remember her sovereign identity. How foolish. The rage buried behind Pridak’s smiles and wine glasses full of chocolate milk began to break through. Casting his hand outward he pulled upon the powers of his mask using the components of broken vehicles and vahki remains along the sides of the wide ice bridge. In his mind’s eye Pridak imagined the construction of a banded cage around the traveler’s form as he flitted about, and metal shackles on his arms and legs with heavy chains between them, and then he released the powers of the mask of creation to do their work... IC: Takadox | Po-Metru “Never change, Leo,” Takadox said with a cheeky, malevolent grin. “We’ll get shades at the resort. Hope you packed light ‘cause this’ll be a bumpy ride. So long girls. Get married though, hypnosis or no. You’re both too weird to say apart.” He waved his open hand in a dismissive gesture and his mask glowed brightly. And then they were gone, nothing remaining of Takadox and Leonn except their footprints in the sand as the purple and orange sunset faded to a dark blue night sky. OOC: Leo ‘n Tik-Tak riding off into the sunset before this game go boom.

OOC: Thanks Xemnas for helping to put the Kalmah, Brutaka, and Kohara section together! IC: Kalmah, Brutaka, Kohara | Coliseum Parade Grounds Kohara’s hailing Brutaka echoed over the throngs of matoran clustered together in crowds for safety. The matoran did not stampede into the Coliseum, instead following the vahki’s orders of waiting for their turn to ride the elevators into one of the three towers. The swelled around the Taku parked on the parade grounds. A few Le-Matoran pulled out graffiti paint, trying to leave their mark on the airship before continuing on. Some matoran stood by with their forge aprons still on, hammers tucked into their belt loops, and soot in the corners of their masks. Others carried bundles of personal items from home in their arms or books from work. An even more disturbing number carried nothing. Brutaka heard Kohara’s voice over the crowd. He turned toward the steps of the central tower to look for the toa of light, but a sudden explosion and a crescendo of frightened screams from near the Ta-Metru gate distracted him. For everyone standing in the parade grounds of the Coliseum, things went from bad to worse. Through the broken and smoking cinders of the Ta-Metru gate strode Kalmah with a few members of his army marching behind. They carried his banners high, and the fluttering crimson fabric cut deep into Brutaka’s heart. Axonn’s maxim returned to him, calming his inner flickerings of fear: the losing side is the one worth fighting for. Brutaka stood on the losing side, and he stood firm. Frightened citizens began running in the opposite direction, causing the panicked crowd around Brutaka to push past him. The crimson warlord ahead of his contingent spied the blue and gold titan standing over the crowd. Kalmah pointed his finger in Brutaka’s direction. “You! I’ve seen you before. At the council meeting. You are Brutaka aren’t you?” Brutaka glared menacingly at Kalmah. “What of it, Barraki? Have you finally crawled back to beg the Great Spirit for forgiveness?” The warlord laughed. “Hah! I came to hunt the best sport in this dull world. You, Brutaka, will make a fine warm up for the main event.” The frightened crowd began to thin between the Barraki and the titan. Brutaka, holding his signature rotating blades, took a ready stance. “So you say, but you’re not taking me or this city today, Kalmah. You want sport? I’ll give you sport.” With a piercing cry, Kalmah charged forward, chains in hand. Brutaka did the same, spinning his blades as he went. He swung in a strong downward cut, intending to cleave the warlord in two, but Kalmah activated his mask of invisibility and vanished. The blades cleaved through only the empty air. “You won’t fool me with your tricks. I spent the better half of yesterday cleaning Mantax’s filth off an island. I will clean you off Metru-Nui just the same.” Brutaka couldn’t see his opponent, he heard the rattling chains as Kalmah moved invisibly through the empty space formed by the panicking crowd. Brutaka swung his blades at every spot he heard sound from. Nothing. A chain suddenly appeared from behind the titan, wrapping itself around one end of Brutaka’s blades. Another chain did the same on the other end. Before Brutaka could react, Kalmah yanked the chains hard, pulling the sword directly out of Brutaka’s grasp and through his armored chest. The crowd screamed, drowning out the sickening crunch of the weapon betraying its master. The titan’s heartlight went dim as his corpse fell in two. Brutaka’s life stained the packed floor of the parade grounds. “That was always your problem, Brutaka: you spoke too soon and never listened to reason.” Kalmah stood over the body with a wicked smile. He bent down and removed Brutaka’s Great Olmak from his face, wiping away the silver liquid from the inside. He surveyed the remaining crowd, held the mask up over his head, and shouted; “Metru Nui! If this is the best your city has to offer I am not impressed.” Still smiling, he placed the Olmak over his own face. The gold with blue highlights of the mask slowly turned to the same crimson as the rest of Kalmah’s armor. Kalmah announced his next challenge with a bellow; “Zataka, impress me!” IC: Tuyet Mangai | Dume’s Mirror The glass shattered behind Tuyet as the mirror crumbled to Zataka’s backhand. The toa of water appreciated Zataka’s strategy. While the Southern warlord lost her chance to control the situation, it sealed the Dark Hunter in with four toa, several matoran, and no avenue for escape except wherever the current of the underground river might lead. After listening to the conversation in the office, Tuyet knew as long as Knichou stayed alive the machine could be repaired. He’d seen whatever plans Nuparu used, and better yet still had the knowledge crystal somewhere for others to learn too. If we have the time for it. She couldn’t help but smile grimly at the thought of needing time to fix the very machine necessary to go back in time to fix the fate of the matoran. Her mind returned just as quickly to what she could control: the waves rising from the river and the Dark Hunter’s escape. She continued to work the waters surging into the cavern from the side behind her, knowing it would dwindle the river ahead. Tuyet needed to carefully time when to funnel the water back in, or risk breaking the wall down like the wall of a dam under too much pressure. Tentacles of water formed on the tips of the waves, grasping at Sidra, trying to pull her down and drown her. Tuyet tried to quickly think of her next plan while she waved her arms and lowered her stance to control the ever rising waves. She knew where the Dark Hunter could go from the top of the machine: into the river or leaping to the catwalk. The river told Tuyet it continued out of the cavern underground for miles in a raging torrent before reaching the sea. It would only be stronger when she let the river return to its natural course. It seemed unlikely the Dark Hunter would submit herself to the unknown darkness of the river. Orange-armored miniature matoran were filling the catwalk though, trying to clamber up via the ladders and scaffolding along the walls of the cavern. She gratefully appreciated their help, but also knew their tactical intellect peaked with swarming someone and throwing whatever they could lift and nothing more. Then, Tuyet remembered, the Dark Hunter used some power of teleportation to enter the cavernous workshop. She could use it to leave. The mask Sidra wore didn’t look like a kualsi or a kakama. Tuyet never saw such a mask, but she did see her enemy step out from the shadows. Whatever its ability, it allowed for nearly immediate travel across a decent distance. Tuyet didn’t like that thought. “She can teleport! Try and track her movements and watch behind you. Disks by the wall, Firespitter,” Tuyet shouted to Okuo. Sure enough a crate of low powered disks helpful for repairing and tinkering could be found stashed out of harm’s way under the scaffolding. That left Atamai and Knichou. Atamai’s power did something similar to whatever the Dark Hunter wore, but it could do so much more if given time and study. Tuyet honestly felt a pang of gratitude for Atamai being new at the job of toa: she’d hate to know what decades of war turned his prayers into when calling upon his mask. Maybe they could use Atamai’s powers to teleport the Dark Hunter away, making her irrelevant? But could she teleport back like Atama? Tuyet couldn’t know the answer, so she settled for straight up killing the chaotic swordswoman. She knew Knichou used the powers of iron, but how well could only be found out as the fight continued. Tuyet didn’t want the fight to continue. Tuyet wanted quick, killed, and moving on with the plan to save the world. Could the new toa handle the bloody taste of war? She noticed the rapid blur of red and white in the periphery, and witnessed Knichou speaking to Atamai in a hushed voice. She couldn’t hear it over the waves and was confident no one else could. Their secrets were safe, though Tuyet didn’t like them planning something so openly obscured. She knew they didn’t trust her, not yet: seeing a woman you thought dead in a magic mirror after their turaga got murdered before them and immediately assuming her intentions aligned seemed like a stretch even to her. Trust needed to be earned, and Tuyet respected that. She didn’t trust them either. Over the rushing waves Tuyet shouted; “Ghosty, spill it: can you or can you not do more than change a hammer? We gotta keep her off the machine.” IC: Takadox | Po-Metru Takdox waited patiently for Leonn to cross the halfway point between the two toa and their small contingent and him and the remnants of Carapar’s army. He knew of plenty of times the hostage died before making the far end. It always happened after the halfway point. Today though… Today would be different then the times he’d released hostages. No, today Leonn would make it fully across the line and they would disappear as soon as Takadox could grab his man’s hand. They’d go wherever Takadox could see. Maybe a hill, then a boat, then a cloud, then another cloud as they fell, then possibly to a pair of reclining chairs at a tropical resort somewhere in League territory. Screw the League. IC: Pridak | Ko-Metru The arrival of more toa and a very large blue man who could only be a deranged turaga made Pridak reconsider his plans of crushing the traveling imbecile who buzzed about him without regard for his own safety. He swatted the attack against his shoulder armaments aside, knowing full well the traveler would just appear somewhere immediately near again. Pridak for one of the first time’s in his life wished he had a kanoka disk of a freezing. It’d do the traveler plenty of good to chill out for a bit. He knew his armies could hold the toa, at least for now. “Varxi, attack the turaga,” Pridak commanded. He knew she hid somewhere nearby. No doubt she thought herself a hero, planned an attack against him. Well, Pridak knew her place: below his heel and under his command. When he took her island home he made sure the toa of lightning understood she knew her role in the world. IC: Dume | Cortex Memories “You say you were tracking someone, but you’re the only stranger I’ve seen today. Must have lost them in the,” Dume paused for a moment trying to really visualize the next two words, two words he never thought would ever leave his mouth together, “meat maze. You said they had an object. Now, I’ve seen some strange objects, and toa, in my time as a smith. Would this object be able to create illusions? Wait, no, that would mean I’m not real. And that doesn’t make much sense since I am.” Dume laughed and slapped his knee. “You sure you didn’t magically shipwreck on the island last night and then eat something in the jungle this morning?” IC: Mantax | Onu-Metru, Archives Mantax grunted as Arkius’ boots connected with his head. The toa of earth’s acrobatic stunt nearly off-balanced the barraki, but Mantax held firm and threw a knee into the trajectory of the toa’s fall as he dismounted the warlord’s arm. He hoped to catch Arkius off guard, get him off balance, then follow up by pinning him to the floor with his hands. Getting the toa on the floor pressed against his own element would make the fight end quicker. Mantax could just crush the skull with a well placed kick, or here could grab both ends and tear down the middle. Mantax knew many moves for ending a duel honorably. He only hoped Arkius could leave a scar for old time’s sake. IC: Grell | Onu-Metru Archives With the flames bursting on the slick and now oiled floor, Grell slid underneath the kanoka disk Kilo-M9 threw to behind one of the shattered and empty display cases. The new blades the toaster carried would be dangerous if she got close. She realized now the machine basically resembled a kofu-jaga. She’d dealt with those before. Grell had this in the bag. She made sure the silver zamor properly sat in the launcher from her crouched position, then popped up quickly to fire it off at her foe. Inside the zamor buzzed several dozen lightning bugs, their crackling electricity making the outside of the sac glitter like a glow lamp.

IC [Zataka, Coliseum - Dume’s Office]: Zataka moved for the portal as well, only to stop at the threshold as the weight of the choice before her: If she followed the Toa in she would not be able to stop the remaining Barrakis’ advance, likely costing them the city. If she didn’t follow them, they might follow through with Dume’s naive, self-righteous plan - risking their past with no guarantee for a better future. Either way, she would have to give up control over part of the situation and that was something that grated heavily for the warlord. She stared at the machine rising beyond the portal, the dark hunter scaling it in a bid to disable it, the rookie Toa trying to stop her, watched over by Tuyet and her weirdly homogenous Matoran workforce. Zataka let out a hiss through gritted teeth. “Tuyet!” she called out. The Toa glanced back towards her. “Be wary of yourself.” she echoed Stannis’ words and the meaning behind them: :If you screw this up I will come for you. In this timeline or the next.: Then, with one decisive back fist, she shattered the mirror, closing the portal. Her choice made, she moved back to Dume’s desk, fingers dancing across the interface. She pulled up surveillance footage and status reports. There were enough cameras still active across the city and she quickly got the overview she needed. It was time to go to work. Sans and his team had departed for Ko-Wahi. Surveillance showed the warlord was currently engaged in combat himself. Good, that would keep him busy until reinforcements arrived. She repositioned Keerakh to make better use of the terrain and the mirror-maze like nature of the icy buildings, so they could effectively hit and fade the Barraki’s forces. Ga-Wahi was still contested but...there was no sign of Takadox, only his forces following standing orders. Odd. Fortunately, the nature of the conquest had been largely bloodless. Since casualties were low, she asked the Bordakh to gain what ground they could and then moved on. Onu-Metru was equally getting fought over, but the Rorzahk seemed to hold their own for now. Mantax had been seen entering the archives with a personal guard, as had a number of allies of Metru-Nui. But there was no available footage from inside the archives that showed the warlord himself. An entire area of the archives had gone dark, the feeds showing nothing but static. Something must have interrupted the signal. She saw the sky above Le-Metru filled with stationary airships and Ehlek’s forces dug into the Metru. She assigned another detachment of Bordakh to approach from the sea and flank them. Next she flicked to Po-Metru and was doubly surprised: First, Carapar had fallen to the hands of two Toa, by what she could tell. Secondly, Takadox had apparently left Ga-Metru to...help? Either way, she quickly ordered the Vahki to push into the Metru and secure it. Lastly, she checked in on Ta-Metru. Between the terrorist attack, using the foundries to fight the invaders and the league’s soldiers wreaking havoc, this part of the city had taken the worst damage. Fires had broken out, more smoke than normal hung in the air and the dead lay in the streets. And then she spotted the warlord responsible. Kalmah was moving with a purpose, but not further into the Metru. He was headed west by the looks of it - towards the coliseum. Zataka leaned on the table with her fists as she moved closer to the holographic image, studying the warlord’s features. “What are you up to…?”

IC: Arkius - Archives Fisticuffs Arkius breathed deep. A deep breath in. A deep breath out. A deep breath in… He looked with his one eye at his opponent as he doffed his armour, the rippling musculature of the warlord not going unnoticed by the toa who himself was well built. But Arkius wasn’t built just for strength. Arkius, an impressive mountain of muscle, came crashing into the sand of a long beach under the crimson radiance of setting suns, the teal glow of his Mask of Kinetics fading. Over him stood a black and grey armoured turaga, who from behind her dark grey Noble Garai looked at the toa with disappointment. “I’ve told you before, Arkius, your strength is not enough if you rely purely on your mask to supplement it.” The toa of earth spat out sand and sighed, sitting up with an embarrassed expression on his face. “But it’s the perfect strategy. My strength is surpassed only by a wearer of the Pakari. Even if I’m not the fastest or lightest on my feet, this mask is the perfect way to make up for it. If I just master my technique with it, then I’ll be-” “Then you’ll be a fool without it! A toa cannot rely merely on their kanohi to make up for their faults. A toa’s power comes from inside, from their body. To rely on one kanohi means you’ll be weak without it.” The turaga walked over to Arkius and offered her hand to help him up. “You need to be ready for the time when the power of your body is all you have to work with.” Arkius smirked. Even lacking his depth perception with his one eye, Arkius could still feel his opponent’s exact position through the earth. As the giant warlord bore down on him, swinging his immense fists at blistering speeds, the earthen toa sprung into motion. With a swift leap to the left, he narrowly avoided the first punch… Arkius heaved and panted, sweat pouring off his body as he carried two wagons full of rocks on his shoulders up a rocky mountain slope. He nearly tripped as his foot met with a rock, but managed to keep himself upright as he readjusted his footing. He groaned, huffed, and then pushed himself to keep going. The black and grey turaga strode on up ahead, never looking back. Arkius groaned. Arkius cursed. But Arkius kept going. In the end, the two of them stood atop the mountain, the view of twin suns wading in the thick cloud cover above the misty forest meeting their eyes. Arkius gingerly put down the two wagons, before stretching himself with a pained yelp, cracking his neck and readjusting himself. His breathing was still heavy. His body was sore. He was soaked with sweat. Right now Arkius wanted nothing more than to lie down and rest... but he knew this wasn’t over. Sighing, he walked up next to his turaga where she stood looking over the valley stretching out below. “Are you sore, Arkius?” The turaga said, her eyes never once moving to look at the toa. Arkius huffed. “My body feels like it’s been through several rockslides and trampled by an oversized muaka. But no, not feeling sore at all, Turaga Yamdra, why do you ask?” The turaga chuckled drily under her breath, shaking her head. “Well, in that case, you’ll be glad to know that you still need to carry those wagons down the mountain.” Arkius groaned. “All this pointless manual labor is starting to get to me, Turaga. Surely there are better uses for my skills?” Arkius was taken aback as the Turaga laughed him off. “Skills? What skills? You call the ability to move the ground and fling yourself around skills? You call the swinging of that oversized axe of yours skills? You are untrained, Arkius. You show potential, certainly, but whatever skills you had before you washed up on our island are clearly long forgotten.” Vamdra sighed, lifting a small chunk off the ground into her hand where she inspected it absentmindedly. “Not to mention that calling all this manual labor ‘pointless’ shows your lack of perspective.” “Why? I don’t need any more strength training. I have all the strength I need.” Arkius flexed his admittedly impressive muscles, but the Turaga did not even acknowledge him. “We’re not training your strength, Toa Arkius.” Arkius quickly leapt to the right, just barely skidding by the warlord’s second swing, the toa’s breathing heavy but regular, evenly paced. He swiftly ducked and rolled under and away from the third swing, coming up with a fiery glow in his eyes. NOW. Do not hurt the cat. That command rang constantly within Arkius’ head. Do not hurt it. Avoid it, keep away from it, and keep it occupied, but do not hurt it. The muaka which Toa Arkius faced growled at him, pouncing at him. Arkius growled with exertion as he ducked out of the way, rolling before he came up to a standing position, stalking around the Rahi. His breathing was heavy, every muscle in his body felt on fire... But that was okay. He wasn’t the only one tired here. After the many times Arkius had wrestled with the muaka population of the island’s forests, he’d come to recognise various patterns in their behaviour, and right now he recognised that his feline opponent was tired as well. Its movements were sluggish, its breathing bated. The muaka leapt at him again and once more he avoided it. It growled, before finally toppling over, exhausted. Arkius panted, but remained standing. As Mantax threw his fourth punch, Arkius leapt forth, catching the fist under his hands, pushing himself up, over, and off the warlord's extended arm to deliver a swift two-footed kick to his head with which he'd then kick himself off and away to a safe distance. This duel was just starting, and Arkius intended to start it right.

IC: Sans, Ko-Metru "That's alright, Leklo. It's harder to use smaller amounts of power than larger ones. You'll get the hang of it once we land, I know you will." A red alarm light began to flash and the back entrance doors slowly opened. "Speaking of landing, looks like our time has come. I'll watch your back- all of you, I'll protect you down there. It's okay to be afraid. I'm afraid. Yet this is when bravery matters most." Sans walked to the edge of the wide open doors, looking at the chaos unfolding below. "Today, we're all heroes." Sans' cape blew with the wind, and icy flakes of snow melted on contact with his aged blue Ruru-shaped Kanohi. Staff in hand, Sans turned back to his companions. "Come to me, then jump a second after I do. Be filled with determination! I'll catch you all, and when we get to the ground, well, don't stop fighting until the Takean King lies dead beneath our heels, huhuhuhu." Then, the old man jumped out of the airship, followed by his Toa brothers and sister. As he fell, Sans looked across the battlefield. Fallen towers of ice, burned down buildings, Matoran corpses strewn about- in a word, chaos. Sans had seen only a few true battles such as this before. But in all his years, he had always won. He would win again today. he was ready, and would make sure the new Toa wouldn't die on his watch. In the distance, maybe one kio, was the prime target Pridak, who seemed to be fighting some warrior. He was surrounded, of course, but Sans knew none of this would be easy. Internally, he mourned the fact he might die in Ko-Metru; those of water never truly enjoyed the ice. It felt like death, at least to him. Now was the time to put thoughts of death away from his mind, though. He was a hero and it was time to save the day, if not the universe. The wind stuck him like a thousand icy needles, yet Sans focused on his mask, and began to grow, and grow, and grow, until he was around 40 bio tall, with his staff matching his growth. The ground didn't seem so far away when he was like this. He turned, and reached out to grab the three toa, then cradled them close to his chest. In a deeper, louder, booming voice, he spoke to them again, maybe for the last time. "The impact won't be fun, but I'll feel most of it. Just make sure you don't fall away from me like an icicle off a cliff side, huhuhuhuhu!" Sans may not have the strength behind the use of his element like he did when he was a Toa, yet he conjured a significant stream under his feet, which blasted the ground and swept away a few of the weaker fighters beneath him. These jets of water indeed softened the blow, and with his staff hand, he stabbed the frozen ground the moment he came close to Metru-Nui's surface. Between the staff and the water, Sans didn't break his legs, though he did still crouch down from the force of landing. It wasn't as bad as he thought it'd be though. With foes all around him, he quickly lowered the Toa to the ground by his feet, noticing for a second Korruhn's not-so-spooky arm extended towards the Turaga's feet. "Already, that one is showing ingenuity in using his newfound gravity powers. I'm just lucky he didn't get cold feet and repulse us all back to the airship, huhuhuhuhu," Sans thought. Since the sight of a huge Turaga falling on them was fairly scary, the League brutes beneath them naturally cleared the landing zone, yet the moment the three Toa were on the ground, they rushed forward. Surrounded on all sides, and quite a fight between them and Pridak, Sans whipped his staff from the ground and did a flashy spin before swiping several lesser members of Pridak's species to the side; one of them was even swatted onto the side of knowledge tower like a fly on a windshield. Sans turned around again to face where Pridak stood malicious and defiant. It wouldn't be easy, but for a hero, it never was. Sans was ready for the fight of his life, and Mata-Nui willing, Pridak would fall this day. OOC: @Crimson Jester @EmperorWhenua @Eyru IC: Mata-Nui, Cortex Mata-Nui smiled through His twisted maw as Mazor extended the artifact towards Him. When Mata-Nui grabbed it, though, Irna shouted out, and Mazor didn't let go. Mata-Nui tried to pull the Krom Sphere back, but it seems that Mazor hadn't completely made up his mind yet. "Mazor... please... everyone has blood on their hands, even you. Would you prefer your God not punish those who would oppose My will? Should I not end the lives of evil beings who twist and mangle My harmonious universe? Let go, Mazor, you're making the right choice. Let go, don't make Me do what you know I can. You have the power to decide how this ends. Will you walk out of here and enjoy My restored, harmonious, peaceful world? Or will you begin My new era with more bloodshed, starting with your own?" Mata-Nui's arm began to crackle as wisps of iron and flame twisted like fine hairs from His oscillating metal flesh. The walls around the room seemed to pulse as well, and the tension in the room could be cut with a knife. Mata-Nui's three eyes looked directly into Mazor's eyes if not his soul. He was ready to obliterate both Mazor and Irna if needed, yet Mata-Nui offered this one last chance to these lowly beings. OOC: @Smudge8 @Conway

IC, Atamai: Some Desert We’ll See On Monday ”What? What do you mean we’re all going to die? Give me a straight answer and maybe, just maybe, I’ll take us back.”

IC: Tuyet | Some Desert We'll See On Monday "Pretended? Are you literally joking with me right now? How about I pop your heartlight out past your spine and watch you pretend to be dead," Tuyet countered. She groaned as Atamai rambled on about the concept of a time paradox. She heard enough the first time the Firespitter and then the ex-Ghost blathered on about a time paradox. The fact they were right and wrong at the same time frustrated her to no end. Tuyet knew no manner of lying, conniving, or otherwise trying to trick her way out the situation would work with these three frigid justice ice pops. "Look buddy, we need six Great Disks of Time to make that machine work properly and I have five of them. Why do you think I told Dume to fuse his disks as soon as he got them? I've died twice and watched five worlds crumble and you are absolutely, positively, totally going to take me back where we just were, and I'm going to use that time machine, and we're going to get me back to the world that actually matters or we're all gonna die. Every single version of us is gonna die. Do you get it? You're already a fracking paradox."

OOC: mobile post IC: Sidra - Tuyet's Lair "You want to talk about fire? While you and all of your Toa friends were prancing about trying to find the disks, a League terrorist crashed an airship into Ta-Metru," Sidra spat. "I was there. I tried to stop him. I failed, but at least I tried. Your Turaga had to blackmail us into keeping you Matoran safe while you chased power and glory, because the real heroes were apparently too busy to do their karzing jobs." She remembered Othorak's steadfast resolve, his cold certainty that his cause was right, and worth dying for... was that what Sidra herself was becoming in this moment? "Life is unpredictable. Life is unexpected. Life is unfair," Sidra spat, "If you go back and stop the League from beginning, you'll change millions of lives... and none at all. Someone else will inevitably step up to fill their place." She kept her launcher levelled, but she was still holding back from charging up a spinner. For now. "And if you look forward, try to stop future catastrophes, you'll be denying that change. You'll be denying everyone their chance to make mistakes, to right wrongs, to survive or sacrifice, to fight or fall, to stand for something..." There was no shine in her eyes as she spoke. Her pleas were earnest, devoid of hypnotic coercion. "...you would rob everyone of their ability to choose. What in the karz gives you that right?"

IC: Skyra - Po-Metru - Skyra let out a long sigh of relief. "Man, this soap opera drama stuff sure is tiring..." @Dane@Tarn@Unreliable Narrator

IC: Skorm (Ga-Metru) Sko finished focused the light flowing between his hands into a laser; using it as a garrote, he sliced through the vines Tekmo had wrapped him in, but it wasn't soon enough to prevent the Ba-Toa from grabbing onto the Light being's arm; Sko noticed the mask stop glowing, and his own kanohi start tingling, the same way Skorm felt when he used it. "What did you-" Orm retracted one of his handblades and stepped back, using his now-protected forearm to batter aside the blow. "You may outnumber us, but at least I still have two functional arms." Then Orm felt something strange. "Wha-" The two beings split into two more beings. Sko diverged into another Av-Toa, his armor more clearly gold than Sko's, and a creature that, while shaped like Skorm, was reflective and shiny; as if he had been plated with mirrors. The Av-Toa fell to the ground, while the mirrored entity remained in Tekmo's grasp. Orm fell to his knees, grasping his wounded shoulder, and split into a gray, red, and black Kra-Toa and a creature of inky shadow. The two beings closest to being Toa were looking around in confusion. The other entities did not look as puzzled. The mirrored entity glared at Tekmo and began glowing. "Unhand me, Toa." The shadow entity hissed as the bright light reached him, dissipating into shadow and melding into the shadow cast by the Kra-Toa. The Av-Toa looked at the attackers in confusion from where he sat on the ground. "Why are we fighting Toa? I don't understand..." The Kra-Toa seemed to be quicker on the uptake. He looked between Tekmo, Ardoku, and Oreius with a pleading, desperate look in his eyes. "We surrender! Whatever you want, we just need to reform before-" "Traitor!" a voice from the Kra-Toa's shadow came. "Speak for thyself." The light entity was now glowing enough to hurt a normal being's eyes. OOC: @Eyru @Toru Nui @Onaku

IC: Leonn - Po-Metru This skak-in-distress business is getting unbearably old. Leonn stared back at Rose, frustration beginning to pool up. Why couldn't he blink and melt her face to slag? From what he could tell, there was no doubt that she'd do much the same given the proper opportunity. But the skakdi's heart warmed and he calmed a bit as Takadox clumsily admitted what they were openly. He wasn't always certain of Takadox felt, he'd given him an awful scare earlier and the barraki wasn't exactly known for his warm and fuzzy leadership methods. And he was more than alright with that, it just lead to some unspoken truths that always felt better when he could speak them aloud. And then, by some miracle, Rose told him to move. She'd listened. The Toa, the self-righteous and morally hypocritical Toa had let him go. Brightening up immensely, the spy put his hands on his head, slowly beginning to walk around the soldier and toward his...boyfriend. OOC: @Tarn @Snelly @Unreliable Narrator

IC: "Mazor!" The shout was surprising -- least of all to Irna herself. But she couldn't stop. She couldn't stop herself. "He killed that Matoran, Mazor," she said. She could feel her hands shaking. It was all she could do to keep that shake out of her voice, too. "He killed him for ... what? For nothing. And maybe he's Mata Nui. Maybe he's god. Maybe he can do that. Do whatever he wants. But...." She took a deep breath. Her vision was tunnelling. She could barely stand. "... should our god be a killer, Mazor?" she said. "Is that what you want?" OOC: @Smudge8 @Azibo -Void

IC: Takadox | Po-Metru He never much liked the desert if Takadox admitted it. He didn’t much like rushing about after eating as much crab as he’d just consumed. The buffet was supposed to be a celebration anyways, and now here he was with two grumpy toa between him and his… Employee? He couldn’t really remember where the line began to blur in their relationship. Somewhere several years ago was all he could remember. Despite the nagging and the demanding, Takadox did truly find Leonn an enjoyable… Soldier? Amartakonen was a loyal soldier under his command, but one he knew would someday rise to bite his heels. The Konen clan would always be a thorn in Takadox’s side, whether or not he wanted to admit it publicly. Leonn though… Takadox couldn’t understand why, but he didn’t find his hackles raised around the skakdi. Perhaps the green color of his armor calmed Takadox more than he realized. In fact, he felt able to share things about himself when they were alone on their vacations he kept otherwise hidden from all but his closest… Friends. Takadox knew why. He’d always known why. Not that he’d admitted it to himself until this moment, but he knew why he kept his iStone close at hand regardless of the time. Takadox’s obsession with knowing Leonn was safe wasn’t a normal paranoia. He didn’t give him the most dangerous or secret assignments because Leonn was expendable. The skakdi with the smile and the sunglasses was his... His… Takadox’s voice came out just barely loud enough to be heard, but the sinister tone couldn’t hide his cold rage. “You will lower your gun, and you will let my… My… Partner walk to me and we will leave, or I will make sure there is nothing left of either of you or this wretched desert.” IC: The Vahki | Coliseum Office “Prisoner will drink water or go without,” responded vahki NU-8008S. Vahki unit NU-8009S stood on the other side of Waveahk still running the program to find a cell for the prisoner. In the chaos of the war, many vahki accidentally booked cells for undead matoran and for League soldiers, thinking them common criminals breaking curfew or trespassing on private property with brandished weapons. The mistake was common enough now that charging hives were beginning to devote vahki minds to the task of denying these mistakes and creating available prison cells. Until the foreseeable future Waveahk would be stuck between two vahki waiting his turn in jail. Truly, things were not going as Metru-Nui intended today. IC: Dume | Cortex Memories “Not really no. I chose it myself on Name Day. They do have a Name Day where you’re from in this Metru-Nui, don’t they?” Dume sighed, sat up, and looked out to sea. The waves washed in from the pearly blue stretching to the horizon. In the distance Ostrox made out a small fishing boat bobbing on the tide. The smell of brine flooded the both of them as a particularly large wave pulled back and revealed the seaweed growing just below the water’s surface. Dume crushed the tip of the cigar into the cabana floor, and the dark smoke flowing from its tip gently wafted away toward the ceiling. Dume repeated Ostrox’s first statement: “You’re not sure about how you got here? And you’re not sure how to get back to your Metru-Nui? Maybe you fell and hit your head. Why don’t you tell me what you were doing until you suddenly felt lost and we can try and piece it together, hmm? So, before you walked out on the beach you were walking in tunnels of something organic. Like what, leaves, trees? The throat of a tahtorak?” Dume chuckled at his joke, but he did turn to fully look at Ostrox finally, sizing him up. His right leg crossed over his left knee as he sat, still one foot in the water. Ostrox noticed the word “Destined” tattooed on the matoran’s right chestplate. Dume crossed his arms and put a hand over his mouth as he settled in to listen. IC: Grell | Onu-Metru, Archives “You what,” said the muscled skakdi of fire with a zamor shooter. She stared at the mechanical android with her piercing blue eyes, the eyes her late husband called sapphires and her most recent husband called terrifying, wondering if the machine could possibly understand the implications of its statement. Toaster’s challenging me to a duel. Now I really have seen it all, thought Grell as she hefted her weapon and stepped forward. She wore spurs and they jangled. “Yeah, sure, whatever. I’m bored and you could use a few more loose screws apparently,” Grell said. One of Mantax’s kikanalo riders shook his head disapprovingly and accosted her. “You dishonor Mantax’s duel by seeking a fight while he is engaged. Your job is to watch.” “I couldn’t give a lit hoto bug’s rear end about his duel. You ain’t my lot and I do it my way. I’m gonna shoot the toaster. I didn’t get a chance to break a vahki, and this thing looks close enough. Grell raised her zamor shooter and fired at Kilo. A silicone sack full of a honey-colored liquid flew through the air toward the android guardian of the Archives before Kilo-M9 got a chance to truly position. Even as it sailed Grell took off, rushing forward and to the side. She never saw a machine like this before, but that large tail meant bad news and she wasn’t about to give the machine a change to teach her what it did. She began loading another zamor into her shooter, this one a pearl color.

Continuing the Topic by Lenny. we... haven't seen Constraction in this year or the year Before, and we haven't seen any Parts being used in any of the New Sets. and while I like to keep Hopes up I... I feel like I can't, without Bionicle or Constraction I feel like I've become a Madman. and I have Grown to have a Extremely Ugly Unhealthy Mind Set. this is Truly a Cruel World, a Great Depression, a Dark Age... (Anyways what do you guys think?)

IC: Skyra Daring - Po-Metru - Skyra loved happy endings, truly Leonn and Tik-Tak were a great couple! Only...well they were also the bad guys so...yeah kind of mixed feelings there if she was completely honest...hmm was letting them go really the right call? Skyra shrugged to herself, as long as they weren't in the way of liberating Metru-Nui then technically her and Rose had just taken care of two Warlords? Right? Right? Speaking of that hot Toa of fire, Skyra turned to Rose. "So, we basically took care of two warlords then yeah? Technically speaking." ... "Now what?" @Tarn

IC: Taja | Ko-Metru They landed safely, but Taja hardly had time to appreciate it. Pridak's army surrounded them, mostly alien beings with long limbs and cruel jaws, and all bristling with deadly weapons. The Toa of Sonics swallowed her fear and readied her disk launcher when a strange Toa suddenly sprang from the enemy's ranks before blasting several soldiers with lightning. "I'm on your side," she said. Unexpected, but the day was already full of surprises, so Taja accepted it without much question. They were going to need all the help they could get. At least this was a good chance to live up to the title of Toa. She figured she probably wouldn't ever get a better one. A handful of heroes standing against an army of bloodthirsty invaders... these were the stories she'd grown up reading. These were the legends that, even now, still echoed in the stars. If this was her destiny, well, it was a pretty epic one, all things considered. She'd never asked for it or even dreamed of it, but the stars had sent her down this path all the same, and she would walk it to the end. Raising her launcher, Taja yelled a battle cry. The shout seemed to come from her very soul, and it started out as her voice but quickly turned into something louder and stronger and stranger, like the sound of a vast trumpet sounding from somewhere beyond the clouds. The blast of sound reverberated out from the Toa in a circle, the air itself shimmering like they were suddenly underwater, and the knowledge towers around them seemed to shiver in response.

OOC: currently sick, apologies if this post is incoherent IC Kanohi - the Coliseum’s border with Le-Metru The little Fe-Matoran focused, to Toa Vashni his mind might be a storm of static, full of thoughts bashing and striking each other like a clash of armies. And through it a strange image manifested. Not unlike what it might be like to read the mind of a Toa who wore a Mask of Clairvoyance. There was a roar like fire erupting off in the distance, and Kanohi startled to see a bridge collapse in the wake of an explosion, Le-Matoran plummeting into the waterways below. He could not wait longer to see if Toa Vashni got his vision. Quickly he grappled past the wreckage, firing a regeneration disk at the edge of the ruptured walkway. The metal bridge regrew like a vine, even as he ducked beneath it. With a hand outstretch he grappled past the water, dredging a Le-Matoran out of the waves as he did. As he dropped off the survivor he grappled again, arm outstretched to scoop up more Matoran.

If I remember right a shadow hand absorbs the powers of whoever the Makuta absorbs so hypothetically all a Makuta has to do is shadow hand some random Jedi and gain force powers. He would probably tell him the Tragedy of Makuta Miserex the Wise.

IC: Mazor-The Cortex Mazor's hand gripped a little tighter on the cube, his thoughts moved at a million Bio/hour. It would be wrong for Mata-Nui to kill a matoran, but Nuju had specifically stated they were coming here to kill Mata-Nui, so it could be considered self defence. Irna didn't trust the creature, but this whole time I've felt the cube drawing me here. He took a deep breath. All I wanted was some time to think, without other bossing me around. Is this what fuffilling destiny feels like? Being rushed around by others until you do what you were made for? If so, I don't like it. He looked up and locked eyes with Mata-Nui, not letting go of the cube. "You can have it, but I want something In return. I don't want to be anyone's servent ever again, not even yours. I want to choose what my destiny will be."

*Takes a long sip of coffee* This topic is going to be good. Instead of a Death Star, Makuta commissions a moon-sized gigantic robot.

IC: Tekmo (The Great Temple) "AUUUGH, MY EYES!" Half-blinded by the light entity's agonizing glow, Tekmo involuntarily let go of its arm. His eyes shut, he tried to bash his adversary with his shield. He wasn't sure what was going on, though it seemed he had accidentally made the situation worse and caused the enemy Toa to multiply again. IC: Waveahk (The Coliseum, Dume's Office) "Oh, very well." Waveahk tried to open the water bottle while handcuffed. It was not easy, but he did eventually manage to get it open... though most of the water missed his throat by a wide margin. It didn't seem to matter, as his mutated physiology simply absorbed the moisture through his skin. He needed that. Ever since the incident in the elevator, he had been... disoriented. So much so that even though the incident began with him drinking water, he had hallucinated that he had flown up to this office - wait. How did he get up here in the first place? The... thing had told him to go up, and he did. Swimming through the air towards this very floor. It was impossible, and yet, it must have happened... right? How much of this was real? Did he hallucinate what happened in the elevator? That drink of water it provided felt real. So did the thing that crawled inside his arm... a 'weapon', apparently. And that headless Toa must have been real, otherwise why would that Turaga free him only to leave him behind as bait? The Turaga himself had to be real, otherwise he would still be in that cell. Well... none of that was his concern anymore. There was no way even the Toa would be so stupid as to leave that issue unchecked. It would be dealt with, in time. He was still where he wanted to be - in Metru Nui's custody. It was just that being in Metru Nui's custody was turning out to be much stranger than he had imagined. Ah, but there was still the small problem of his 'agreement'. Kill 'Korruhn' - apparently one of the Toa who was present when he barged in through the window - and Mata Nui. Waveahk was in no position to eliminate the former, and had no idea just how he was expected to eliminate the latter. And he wasn't sure how this entity would retaliate for his failure. It was clear that this entity could somehow hear his thoughts so he was pretty much doomed already, otherwise how did it know he wanted a drink? He was doomed, unless he could carry out two impossible tasks. Could it hear his thoughts now? The deal was invalid. He didn't know what he was agreeing to. The 'contract' was made under duress from fear of being devoured by a slug creature. He did not have to kill Korruhn and Mata Nui, and even if he could - well, he would need a little more help than the word 'up'. Waveahk closed his eyes, and tried to find some semblance of peace in what could very well be his final moments. IC: Ostrox (Mata Nui) "Well, its a long story. My lord asked me to keep an eye on a particularly suspicious character and the rather important item he was carrying. I followed him into what appeared to be a labyrinth of flesh beneath the city and I, uh, lost him. So I look around the place, travelling through tunnels of meat and then, suddenly I arrive here."

Lego probably does want their old cash cow back; their behavior in 2016 suggests that they were pulling the plug to keep the brand from going under, just like with G1; they even said it was doing "average." Knowing this, and that pulling funding to un-end Ninjago likely contributed to G2's poor marketing, I imagine Lego would understand that the brand is not unviable, it simply didn't get a proper chance. Logic dictates that, while we can't know if they will, it'd be smart to try and bring it back; in fact, I recall there being an article from within Lego saying they'd like to try again. If we assume that's what Lego plans to do, we have 2 possibilities: 1, Lego plans to scrap CCBS for a new, more versatile system to bring Bionicle back in earnest; 2, Lego has abandoned constraction and revive Bionicle as a System theme. While I'd like to have some good-old-fashioned constraction sets again, I'm also curious to see what Systemicle would be like.

IC: Rose - Po-Metru Rose didn't waver. Her revolver was still aimed at the Skakdi. She wasn't going to let her guard down yet, not until this standoff was well and truly over. "Then get. Moving. K? And as a sign of good faith...leave the iStone." @Snelly@Dane@Unreliable Narrator IC: Jutori - The Virgil Jutori immediately got to his feet with the aid of his sledgehammer once Stannis addressed him. "Ah, that...might be a tall order for someone who's just become a Toa, Stannis," he replied. The fact the older man believed he was capable of this was an encouragement, however. "But, if there was any time to practice my abilities, I suppose now would be good." The Toa of Gravity moved to the bridge to get a clear look at what was ahead, and saw a line of ships protecting the district from airborne attack. He'd had very little practice with his element, and this was far from what he was expecting to do with his newfound power, but if Stannis of all people believed in him, then... Jutori raised his hands towards the defensive line and focused hard on the airships before them, trying to affect them just enough to, as his Po-Toa mentor put it, lift the curtain. Their gravity weakened, they slowly began to rise and create a safe path for the Virgil, although this was very much not an easy task for the young Toa, who could feel the strain of using his powers at such a level so early in his training. @EmperorWhenua@Snelly@That Matoran with a Vahi

IC Kilo-M9 - Archives: Preparing preemptive attack. Preemptive attack detected. Altering planned projectile trajectory. The mechanical enforcer, having not actually been told the rules to duels beforehand, was actually planning its own surprise attack while the skakdi warrior planned hers. A minor change of aim later and the machine tossed the torch it was still holding into the path of the oncoming zamor sphere. Both projectiles hit somewhat close to the center between both fighters, leading to the expected chain reaction. The kerosene within the sphere met the heat and flame of the torch and ignited as the sphere dispersed its contents, leading a medium-sized patch of flaming liquid to cover the ground. The fire cut off Grell’s advance which the machine was quick to try and take advantage of. As the torch carrying hand moved to retrieve the automaton’s other blade, its other hand was reaching into the side compartment to retrieve a disc labelled 632. The disc was promptly launched at the skakdi. Distraction initiated. Ideal moment has not arrived. Continuing combat until moment arrives. Searching records for similar liquids to contents of enemy’s current sphere. OOC: @Unreliable Narrator

As a kid who was obsessed with pirates, I've always loved the LEGO Pirates line. In fact, I remember when I first came across the Barracuda as a kid. It was awe-inspiring. I purchased some of the later Pirates sets over the following years, but none of them seemed quite as awesome. I wrote it off as childhood nostalgia—after all, nothing is as cool as it was when you were a kid, right? That's what I thought, but now I'm not so sure. This set really captures that same sense of wonder, especially with all the little details and play-ability. It looks incredible, and I love all the little touches that hearken back to those old Pirate sets of the 90s. I'm really tempted to splurge on it, even at that hefty price tag. There's no amount of money you can pay to recapture your childhood, but looking at this set kinda makes me feel like I'm six years old again.

IC: Nale Vella - Archives Thom was right. Arkius stood no chance on his own against the warlord. "Then what do we do?" she asked, peeking out again to see Kilo speaking to one of the League Skakdi...the one holding Mantax's Spear of Fusion. @Dane@Onaku@pokemonlover360 IC: Rose - Po-Metru "Pipe down, lover boy," Rose said to Leonn. Takadox's suggestion to renounce her faith made the Ta-Toa angrier, but she was, at the moment, doing a fine job at holding her rage back and not going all out on the warlord or his consort. She wished she had a mirror or something... "If you think we'll just let you have this place or the water district, then you're mistaken. This is very close to getting ugly, and when I get ugly...you don't wanna be around. Do you even know how many soldiers I've turned to ash?" "I'm not the diplomatic type. I don't think you are, either. You saw what happened to Carapar," she continued, "and just because you think you can bend anyone to your will by staring at 'em for a bit doesn't mean anything when all your staring at is the other end of my flamethrower, you godless son of a brakas. You can be smart about this...or you can be very, very stupid. I didn't come all this way to get told to turn tail. So the one who needs to make a decision here is you." One arm still blocking the warlord's gaze, Rose used her other hand to reach into the leg compartment which held her firework revolver, and aimed it at Leonn's head. "##### off, or watch me get ugly on your precious boy toy. No more prisoners." She looked the Skakdi in the eye. She wasn't bluffing. @Snelly@Dane@Unreliable Narrator

IC Kilo-M9 - Archives: Rules on duels unclear. Total number of enemy forces makes upfront battle unlikely to succeed. Witnesses are needed to observe duels. Multiple witnesses exist for both sides. Solution: Have multiple simultaneous duels. Method is efficient. “Acknowledged,” the machine responded. “Multiple witnesses present.” The steel sentinel turned to point at one of the goons not carrying the spear. “This unit challenges this one to a duel.” OOC: @Unreliable Narrator Kilo is throwing down the gauntlet.

IC: Skyra Daring - Po-Metru - Skyra flipped them the bird. @Tarn@Dane@Unreliable Narrator

There we go! Clearly I need to reread some of the books (that's enough of an excuse for me!)

Not to mention that the Ninja have forgotten how to do Airjitzu and summon elemental energy dragons, as it seems. That’s silly. They don’t have to make things difficult for themselves. Lol. For my opinion about Zane, I always thought he’s an organic being who has a dull, naive, and monotonous personality, which is kind of normal for people. I didn’t expect Zane to be revealed to be a robot, but it does explain his personality and his extraordinary ability to stay underwater for a long time. He’s a robot, and robots don’t need to breathe anything. He’s like a mix of Kopaka, Matoro, Nuju, and Preston Stormer from Hero Factory. Whether he’s a robot or not, nothing’s changed much, except for Rebooted and Season 4. It’s becoming a norm, I must admit. He has a heart of a human being.

This is weird, I struggled for a long time to think of what moments I thought of as creepy in Bionicle when I was a kid after seeing this post for the first time... and I really couldn't think of anything that jumped out at me. Then I started to think of the world when Bionicle launched... and yeah. Turns out seeing 9/11 happen live on TV when you are 7 years old changed my perspective on things as a kid... more than I think I am honestly willing to admit. Bionicle seemed like a safe comforting adventure compared to the creepiness of the real world for me as a kid.