Pahrak Model ZX

Chapter 13 The doors burst open as Rosa stormed into the room. Slamming her hands down on the table, she whispered, “ you, Walters…” Boreal entered next, approaching her cautiously. “R-Rosa, I know it’s frustrating, but I think you should calm down a little.” “But he’s still out there!” Rosa shouted, whirling on him. “The FM-ians have Kelvin, and we could find him in a flash if we could just connect to Peace! But that coward cares more about covering his tracks than the lives of those who went out there!” “He was clear: he’s not going to let us use NAZA’s resources to pursue this. I…I don’t think we really have much of a choice.” Rosa shook her head. “I’m not giving up.” “If Walters catches you, he’ll—“ “What, fire me? If he does that, then I’ll just cause a fuss about the FM-ians and his refusal to deal with it, and that’ll put more pressure on him than he’s willing to deal with. He knows that. He’s in no position to blackmail me.” Rosa stalked over to a desk with a computer console built into it. She started typing furiously, and Boreal slowly edged towards her. “But what’s the plan?” he asked. “If we use NAZA equipment, Walters will be able to shut it down.” Rosa stopped what she was doing to glance at him. “We?” “…He’s my friend too.” Resuming her work, Rosa said, “We’ll get equipment elsewhere. Set it up off-site. It shouldn’t be too hard to get everything together, and I’m sure I can outmaneuver Walters if he tries to lay some kind of claim to our work.” She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. “Still…we’re going to need help.” “What about the Sages?” Boreal suggested. “Having EM Beings working with us sure would be useful.” Rosa covered her mouth with one hand. “I definitely want to consult with them…but I don’t expect them to do anything directly. They do need to manage the Satellite Network, plus if they reveal themselves now, the Star Force plan could be put in jeopardy.” She stared forward, eyes unfocused, as she ran through all the possibilities she could think of. Unfortunately, given how much power Walters held, the Sages of AM really were the only ones beyond his reach, so their chances weren’t looking very good. No, there’s still one more. Her gaze sharpened as an idea came to her. “…Hm…” “You’ve thought of something?” Boreal asked. Rosa stood up and started to pace the room, tapping one finger against her arm. Boreal watched her, waiting for an answer. Eventually, Rosa came to a stop and closed her eyes. “I’m going to call her.” “Her…?” Boreal repeated. A few moments later, he realized who she meant, and his eyes shot wide. “W-Wait, her?!” Rosa flipped open her Transer and began setting up a secure connection. “She’s the only person on Earth who I know can slip through Walter’s web. If we’re going to have any chance of getting Kelvin back, we need her help.” Boreal rushed forward and grabbed Rosa’s arm. “Wait! Are you really okay with that?” Rosa averted her gaze. “…My biggest problems with her are personal ones, so it’s just a matter of swallowing my pride, really.” “Rosa…” Finally looking him in the eye, she said, “We need her, Aaron. You know Kelvin would do anything to help us.” They stared each other down for a minute. Ultimately, Boreal released his hold. As he took a step back, he said, “You’re right. If you think this is the way, then I’m with you.” Rosa nodded and turned to her Transer. She checked the encryption one more time, took a deep breath, and made the call. *** But this situation is different, Boreal thought, his mind returning to the present. Sonia’s still so young…and she watched it happen, right in front of her. He and Ace walked slowly down the hall of WAZA HQ, coming to a halt near a door guarded by Lyra and Ophiuca. The two FM-ians looked up as they approached—they didn’t say anything, just regarded them with sullen eyes. “Lyra,” Boreal asked, “how long do you think she’ll need to recover from the shock?” Lyra shook her head. “Hard to say. Sonia built her entire world around Luna, and without that central pillar, it’s all come crashing down on her. She was able to pick up the pieces the last time that happened to her, but I imagine it’s even harder to do a second time.” Ace crossed his arms, nodding thoughtfully. “Hm. It won’t be easy to take Dealer down without her help. Especially now that Joker’s in play…” Lyra paused a moment. “Mr. Boreal, while I have you here: has there been anything unusual about any recent communications from Planet FM?” “Not that I can think of,” Boreal said. “Why do you ask?” “Corvus and Virgo. Not only are they here, which is troubling in and of itself, but they said something even more worrying. Something about it becoming even easier to kill on Planet FM. I can only imagine what they could’ve meant, and was wondering if—“ “Listen to you,” Ophiuca hissed. “Luna died, and you’re concerned about a hypothetical situation star systems away? We have far more pressing issues to deal with, Lyra.” Lyra opened her mouth to speak, but thought better of it. “We can strangle the answers out of Virgo later. First and foremost, we need to exact our revenge on that man.” She turned to the humans. “Unless you have something to tell me about that, I would ask that you leave.” Ace and Boreal exchanged a look. Before either could say anything, the sound of running footsteps could be heard—Vega careened around the corner and right up to them, stopping only when the FM-ians moved in front of the door. “I can handle this, doctor,” Ace said. Still catching her breath, Vega huffed, “No…I need to…speak with her…please, let me in!” Lyra glanced at Ophiuca. The snake charmer didn’t budge. “Please!” Vega said. “I can help her—you must let me through!” “She does have…experience, with this,” Lyra said. Begrudgingly, Ophiuca floated aside. Lyra followed suite, but took a moment to add, “Tread lightly, doctor.” Nodding to them, Vega gently opened the door and took a step inside. The room was small and the lights were out, only a single shaft of sunlight from a very narrow window dividing the darkness. The light hit the corner of a square table, at which sat Sonia, slumped forward with her arms crossed on the table to provide a makeshift cushion she could press her face into. She didn’t move an inch. “Sonia?” Vega asked quietly. There was no answer. “Sonia, are you awake?” When she still received no reply, Vega walked over to the table and pulled out a chair, taking a seat opposite the girl. She thought a while longer about how best to say what she needed to say before speaking again. “Listen to me, Sonia. There might still be a way we can save Luna.” Sonia’s fingers twitched. She slowly lifted her head up: her eyes were red, tears still streaming from them, but they were forming into a very nasty glare. Vega quickly understood why. “I’m being genuine. You know that I’m the last person who would lie to you about something like this.” Whatever Sonia had been preparing to say, she set it aside. “If it had been anyone else, then the situation would be different, but Joker uses a very unique weapon. It’s designed to break the target into multiple fragments—fragments specifically intended to be pieced back together later. Even when used against a material being, its Z Wave output automatically increases to the point where the target is transformed into an EM being, so that this division can take place.” Sonia’s gaze finally softened. Vega leaned forward and took her hands. “Luna isn’t gone for good yet. There’s still hope.” *** Sonia tried to hide her face as she followed Vega into the lab. She had finally stopped crying, but she knew she couldn’t be looking good and didn’t want the others to see her like this. They realized her intent and did their best not to stare. Dr. Goodall stood before a large machine of some sort, and turned around when Vega stepped next to her. Facing Sonia, the old scientist breathed deeply, adjusted her glasses, and said, “I’m so sorry, Sonia.” “Dr. Vega said there was still a chance,” Sonia said. She cleared her throat when she realized how awful she sounded. “There is…but you must understand that it is a chance.” Goodall gestured to the large tank-like machine behind her. “This is the machine designed to piece together what Joker breaks. We’ve done extensive work on it, but even at its current stage, it is not infallible.” She pointed then to a wall covered in buttons and switches, next to which was a large, cylindrical chamber. “More importantly, there’s this machine. It turns an EM being that was once material back to its original state…in theory. For obvious ethical reasons, we have never been able to test it, much less how it would work in conjunction with the first machine. Not that that’s stopped Aaron from pouring his heart and soul into it…” Boreal lowered his hat. Geo shifted a bit. “So I need to be absolutely clear, Sonia,” Goodall said. “We will do everything within our power to save Luna…but science is not perfect and almighty. I cannot make any guarantees. You must understand this before we proceed.” Sonia closed her eyes and bit her lip. After a few seconds, she nodded jerkily. “…Alright. I’ve already gotten the finest team in the world together, and we’re running thorough checks on these machines as we speak. With that out of the way, all that remains is gathering up Luna’s data.” “How do I do that?” Sonia asked. Goodall turned to Ace. “For best results, I think you should take Acid with you.” Ace raised his eyebrows. “Uh…is that really necessary, doc? Acid’s technically still a secret project, so we’re not supposed to take him off-site unless it’s an official Satella Police mission.” “It is,” Boreal replied. “We can’t afford to miss a single piece of data, and Acid is our best analyst hands-down. I’ve authorized Sonia to take him with her.” Ace rubbed his neck. Grabbing his Hunter, he pressed a button to materialize Acid, and then said, “Well, what do you say, Acid? Ready for a trip to the beach?” Acid faced Sonia. “I have calibrated my sensors to pick up the energy signature left by Joker’s weapon, and augmented it with what data we have gathered from observing Luna fight in wave form—it is highly likely that her data fragments will possess a congruent wavelength.” Sonia nodded. “Thank you all.” She paused a moment, and then asked Boreal, “Should I be looking for Strong’s data too?” Boreal didn’t look her in the eye. “We already gathered up Strong’s data. The environmental system is equipped to track him in case of an emergency, so it was a pretty quick process.” “Were you able to repair him?” “…It’s important to remember that Strong was corrupted by a very large amount of Noise. Since Joker absorbed the Crimson he released afterward, it’s also possible the device he used affected Strong’s data, and…” Sonia fidgeted. “It’s not good, is it?” Boreal sighed. Goodall was the one who answered, “We were unable to restore Strong using his fragmented data. It had eroded to a point that we could not complete his program.” Sonia nodded. “But there’s good news for Strong,” Boreal said. “The environmental system keeps backup data for him that it frequently refreshes, and using that the people of Alohaha were able to rebuild him. The data was from a few days ago, so he doesn’t remember anything about Noise or Dealer, but…he is alive.” She wanted to be happy, but all Sonia felt was an urgent sense of anxiety, and an inkling that even were that not the case her actual feelings would be mixed. Not wanting to waste any more time, she turned back to Acid. “Let’s go,” Sonia said curtly. The Wizard followed as she headed for the door. Boreal called, “I’ll send you an access code so that you can use the Astro Wave—you should be able to get to Alohaha much more quickly using that!” “My, Earth has an Astro Wave at last?” Lyra commented. “It would seem your EM technology has taken quite a leap after all.” Geo stepped forward, saying, “Let me come too. I want to help get Prez back, and…well…” Before he could finish, Ophiuca interrupted, “Please let me come as well. I don’t know that I’ll be much help, but…I at least want to be there.” Sonia just nodded, and then continued on her way, expecting the others to follow. However, just before she walked through the door, she stopped. “…I have a question,” she said. “Joker said I was his replacement…and since the Ace Program is named after Ace…” She looked to Ace, then Boreal, then Vega, then Goodall. With a sad look in her eye, Goodall said, “That’s right. Joker used to work with the Satella Police, and we named a Noise Control Program after him—he still possesses the first generation sample of it.” “I see,” Sonia mumbled. She continued out the door, not saying anything else until they reached the elevator. “I wonder what the rest of that story is,” Geo said. “It’s weird to think we haven’t heard about Joker before now.” Sonia stared at her guitar screen. She started to reach for it, but then stopped. “…Sonia?” She gave him a quick look, and then slung her guitar over her shoulder. “…I can’t use it.” “What do you mean?” “This is…the power that killed Luna. I want to just uninstall it, and destroy it so it can never be used again.” She clenched her fists. “But…I don’t have time to replace it with a Filter. I guess I just have to keep it for now.” Lyra offered, “If it makes you feel any better, dear, I won’t prepare any Noise Change connections.” “Thank you.” “I do not believe your assessment is accurate,” Acid said. “This is not the program that Joker used to make his attack. Even if it was, refusing to use it now does not change the fact that—“ “Lay off, will you?” Mega snapped. “She said she’s not gonna use it, so that’s that! Why don’t you fire up your sensors, or whatever it is you need to do?” Acid said nothing more. Geo watched Sonia, but she just stared forward with a look he’d never seen before. He wanted to believe she was being hopeful, like she always was, but there was unmistakably something different this time. She looked drained, and desperate. It was like this was the last scrap of hope she had left. *** King sat and shuffled his cards for a moment. Eventually, his chair rotated, and he looked down at Jack, Tia, and Joker. “Well,” he said, “this is a most unusual draw, now isn’t it? Jack, Queen Tia, you did an excellent job. You generated a hefty amount of Crimson, instilled fear in the people of Alohaha, and successfully drew out that pest so that Joker could engage him in combat. But Joker…” He set down his cards and leaned forward, folding his hands in front of his face. “It’s bad enough that you couldn’t finish off your opponent, but worse still is that you’ve crippled Harp Note’s will to fight! How are we to proceed without one of our most necessary pieces?” Joker hung his head. “I am truly sorry, Mr. King. My anger got the better of me, and I acted rashly. I regained my composure when I fought my target, but he surprised me, and slithered away like a coward.” King sat back and sighed. “I had a bet you weren’t prepared to fight cowardice. Heartless?” She swiftly produced a stack of poker chips, which she set in King’s outstretched hand. “Thank you my dear, at least I’ve some profit to show. Really, Joker, I’m disappointed in you. You couldn’t control yourself when faced with simple taunting, and you failed to complete a mission that should have been very easy for someone with your power.” Joker’s fists tightened as he continued to stare at the floor. “I suppose I’ll have to think of a suitable punishment for you. For the time being, you are dismissed.” Joker turned and slowly made his way out of the room. Jack glared at him as he went. “Jack?” Jumping a bit, he said, “W-What?” “Are you feeling alright, Jack? I just complimented you on a job well done, yet you don’t seem all that pleased.” Jack put his hands in his pockets. “Right, yeah, I’m thrilled. Glad we can finally put all that undercover nonsense behind us.” King scratched his chin. “Hmm, I see. And is that the truth?” “What do you mean?!” Jack snapped. “Of course it is! Now quit beating around the bush and get to our orders, will you? I’ve been waiting too long to take a stab at Harp Note!” King wagged his finger. “Ah-ah-ah, Jack, that’s no way to behave. What am I going to do with you? Even when you finally succeed in something, you fail in the end.” Before Jack could say anything, Tia took a step forward. “I apologize, Mr. King. I will have a word with Jack in private later. We are simply eager to continue our work.” “Sis…” Jack mumbled. King grinned. “Oh, very well. I do have a rather important task for you.” He gestured to Heartless. The woman took a few steps aside and then clicked a button on her Hunter: a large screen appeared where she had been standing, displaying an image of WAZA HQ. “Our surveillance network has confirmed that Harp Note and Mega Man have both left WAZA HQ and are en route to Alohaha,” she explained. “Further, they have taken Acid with them, and counting the death of Luna Platz this leaves our enemy’s base short four key fighters. To compound matters, the staff is in mild disarray as they attempt to prep machines they believe will reconstruct the data of Luna Platz.” Jack looked up. “Therefore,” King said, “I believe it is time to call their bluff. Queen Tia, you are to leave immediately to launch an assault on WAZA HQ.” Tia nodded. Furrowing his brow, Jack said, “And what about me?” “You will stay here and await further orders,” King said. He picked his cards back up and resumed shuffling them. “…What?” Jack asked. “But sis and I always run missions together! What are you trying to pull?” “This is exactly why I’m not sending you,” King said. “You’re quite out of sorts, Jack. Frankly, I expect you to ruin this mission if you are a part of it.” “What?! That’s a load of—“ “Jack,” Tia said. He turned to his sister, ready to continue, but froze under the ice-cold glare she was aiming at him. Shrinking back, Jack pulled his coat tighter and mumbled something under his breath. “I have no qualms about this assignment,” Tia said to King. “Am I permitted any troops?” “Actually,” King replied, “I was going to send the copies with you. They’ll be perfect for this particular attack.” Tia nodded. “Of course, Mr. King. Thank you for trusting me with such valuable technology.” “Of course, my dear! You’ve more than proven yourself. But then, at the same time…with so much in your favor on this mission, should you somehow manage to fail it…” He leaned forward again. “I will be incredibly displeased with you.” “I understand. Rest assured that the mission will proceed as planned.” “Good! That’s what I like to hear! Run along, now.” Tia departed, leaving Jack standing alone. He looked up at King and Heartless expectantly. “Didn’t I already tell you what to do?” King said. “Go and think about what you’ve done. I’ll expect you to have a clearer head by the time your sister returns.” Jack left without another word. When he was gone, King sat back in his chair and sighed. “I suppose he’s about that age. I do hope he doesn’t get any particularly rebellious ideas—it’d be such a shame.” “Indeed, Mr. King,” Heartless said. “I am certain that once he has some time to readjust, he will be useful to you once again.” King hummed. “There’s still the matter of Harp Note. This hunt for her lover’s corpse is bound to end in failure, so we shall need to find a new way to motivate her to fight.” “I doubt we will need to go far out of our way, sir. Once she fails, she will likely settle for revenge next, especially with the devastation of WAZA on her conscience.” “Hmm, perhaps, perhaps. But now that you say that, I find myself wondering if we should raise the stakes of this operation…” King snapped his fingers. Ten Wizards with spiky purple armor soon appeared in the room, eagerly awaiting their orders. King drew ten cards from his deck and held them out. “Each of you take a Noise Card, and then round up as many viruses as you please. Our enemies think their recent global expansion will leave them better prepared to deal with us…we’re going to need to make a point.” (Review)

This has been a very productive writing week for me, so here's Right of Law Section IV! Antroz and Zaekura make it away from Nynrah, but the only person they can turn to for help is a particularly annoying Makuta and his sizable Rahkshi army. It's not a very enticing prospect, and before long, it begins to look even worse... If I can keep up my recent pace, it shouldn't be long until Section V is up, and I get the feeling that one's going to be quite an event!

Thank you! I've been having a lot of fun trying to figure out the world--this type of setting only asks that you take things from the original world and twist them, and Bionicle being Bionicle, it has such a vast array of things to twist. And we've still only been to two cities! Section IV is up now, following up on that outpost mentioned briefly in Section I. The main focus is Makuta Bitil, as well as his Rahkshi, who are a very unique breed of creature.

SECTION IV After making it out of the compound, Antroz led Zaekura north until she believed they were out of the drones’ range, and then headed east before eventually turning to the south once more. Antroz used her powers of Weather Control to make the conditions of the Great Desert easier for Zaekura, but she could only go so far without creating a suspicious event someone would surely take notice of. They managed to circumvent the enemy forces and make it safely to the outpost that lay between Nynrah and Xia, but as they approached it, Zaekura’s steps began to slow, so Antroz stopped and turned to her. “We have no other options,” the Makuta said. “Yeah, you said that,” Zaekura said. “Still, my survival instinct can’t quite understand why I’m letting one Makuta lead me to another, and it just got a whole lot louder.” She paused to look over her shoulder. “You sense it too, then? We are being watched.” Zaekura groaned. “I really should’ve spoken up sooner, huh.” Antroz turned sharply, making Zaekura jump. The Glatorian looked where she was facing to see a lone Rahkshi coming across the sand. That didn’t surprise her all that much, but she did find it a bit curious that the creature wasn’t carrying a staff. She heard Antroz make a guttural sound just before it came into earshot. The Rahkshi strolled up to where they stood and stopped a few paces away, looking them up and down in a way Zaekura had never seen a Rahkshi do before. “Greetings, Makuta Antroz. I must admit, it’s quite a surprise to see you…and your guest.” Zaekura blinked. She could hear the voice clearly, but she wasn’t sure who was speaking—it wasn’t Antroz, but no one else was around. “I apologize for arriving unannounced,” Antroz said, bowing slightly in the Rahkshi’s direction after a momentary pause. “Circumstances are rather extreme, and I am afraid Bitil is the only one I can ask for help. It is most urgent that I speak with him.” Squinting, Zaekura thought, Is she talking to…the Rahkshi? The Rahkshi nodded, turning slightly towards Zaekura and giving her another once-over. “I see. May I ask who this is? I will need to tell Lord Bitil something before he agrees to an audience.” “This is a Glatorian named Zaekura,” Antroz said, gesturing in her direction. “I am afraid anything I could say about why she is here is very sensitive information, and I must insist on sharing it with Bitil alone.” The Rahkshi inclined their head. “Hm…and that is why you’re interfering with my telepathy?” “Yes. As I said, the matter is highly sensitive.” She began to feel a dull pain in her head, but Zaekura did her best to ignore that for the time being. Finally, she was starting to realize what was going on, and desperate situation or not, she had to know. “I’m sorry,” she said, pointing to the Rahkshi. “Is that you talking?” The Rahkshi stared at her for a moment in silence. Then, they gave a peculiar noise, and the voice took on a tone of amusement. “Of course, you came here without receiving a proper explanation. Perhaps I should have given you a more formal greeting—my apologies. My name is Charla, and I am a Rahkshi of Telepathy.” Zaekura stepped forward, eyes wide with awe. “You have a name? I didn’t know Rahkshi had names, or that even telepathic ones could, well…talk.” Charla waved her hand. “Well no, most don’t, and most can’t. But Makuta Bitil has refined the Rahkshi spawning process to a degree no other Makuta has, granting us all…’specialties’, as he typically calls them. And as an added effect of the process, we tend to possess higher sapience than your average, run-of-the-mill Rahkshi.” “That’s incredible!” Zaekura said. “And you don’t need a staff?” “I possess an internal focal point for my power, so there was no need for me to possess a weapon.” “Really? Is that the case with all Bitil’s Rahkshi, or—“ “Zaekura,” Antroz interrupted. Her tone was a bit blunt, making the Glatorian recoil a bit. “What? I’m just curious, or is that…” She trailed off, putting a hand to her head. “Oh, are you in pain?” Charla asked. “Likely from travelling through the desert,” Antroz said. The Rahkshi glanced at her. “In that case, we’d best get her inside, I suppose. Please follow me.” She turned and headed towards the wall of the outpost, Antroz and Zaekura right on her heels. As the pain faded, Zaekura looked up at the imposing barrier, forming a perfect square around a patch of desert that looked large enough to house a small town. She craned her neck as they approached a gate: two Rahkshi stood guard there, both head and shoulders above Antroz and bearing heavy armor, a massive sword strapped to the back of one while the other leaned against a great hammer. “Charla,” she asked, “I’m guessing those weapons replace their staffs?” “That’s correct,” Charla said. “Most Rahkshi here do still use weapons to focus their energy, but Lord Bitil thought it would be repetitive if they all carried simple staffs.” The sword-wielding Rahkshi eyed Zaekura as they closed in. She said, “Have to agree. Though, isn’t it tough to use such a huge weapon?” The Rahkshi blinked, and then turned to Charla and made a series of garbled, hissing grunts. She made one such noise herself before saying, “Regrettably, most types of Rahkshi still have not found ways to communicate with other species; as a telepath I spend a good deal of time playing translator. Virban here says no weapon is too great to handle if you’re determined enough.” Virban beat his fist against his chest. “Courage Rahkshi, they’re of simpler stock,” Charla added. As Virban hissed furiously in protest, Zaekura turned to the Rahkshi with the hammer, who had an odd look—like he would be smiling if he could. He stepped back and lifted his hammer off the ground. The weapon floated up like a feather, rotating up to balance gingerly on his fingertip. “Oh, you’re a Rahkshi of Gravity!” she said. “Right, so you can manipulate the weight of that hammer to make it easier to swing.” She smirked. “But I bet it gets a lot heavier right before it hits them, eh?” The Rahkshi nodded, setting his weapon back down. “That’s enough showing off, Neton,” Charla said. “If you two will please allow us inside, Makuta Antroz wishes to speak with Lord Bitil.” Virban and Neton each knocked on the wall behind them, and soon the massive gate swung inward. Charla brought the visitors inside, and as the door closed behind them, Zaekura let out a low whistle. Dozens of Rahkshi were going about inside the perimeter, and each one looked even more unique than the last. She saw one that carried eight small firearms on a belt worn across their chest, another that had two heads that seemed to be arguing with each other, and one that looked more like a special breed of ussal than a Rahkshi. “Wow,” she said. “How many Rahkshi live here?” “Over 200, and I wouldn’t be surprised if more are on the way,” Charla answered. “Lord Bitil is always thinking of new specialties to try out. This also allows the outpost to run far more efficiently: Rahkshi need very little, so even the standard fare of other Makuta can be more useful workers than Matoran and Agori at times. And, given our loyalty to our creator, the risk of a security breech is non-existent.” Zaekura stopped to examine a Rahkshi with four arms. Antroz called back, “Zaekura! Keep moving.” Groaning, Zaekura caught up and said, “Fine, fine. You’re so on edge.” “As were you, a minute ago.” “…Yeah, well…” At the dead center of the outpost was a stout tower with several spotlights fixed to its balcony. A figure could be seen moving about behind them, but it was impossible to get a good look at them from this distance. “Lord Bitil!” Charla called. “You have visitors!” The figure leaned over the railing. Bitil’s armor was completely gold from head to foot, sporting massive shoulder spikes, numerous decorative chains and gems, and banners of white cloth (with gold embroidery), topped by a glimmering Kanohi Faxon. He gave a smug grin when he recognized Antroz. “Well well, look who it is!” he shouted down. “I didn’t expect you’d cross our way again so soon, Antroz. Needed to stop for something on your way back to Xia?” “I have something I must discuss with you, Bitil,” Antroz replied. “Privately.” Bitil glanced at Zaekura. “Privately, you say? I get the feeling you want your companion present as well.” “Yes, but just the three of us. No need to trouble any of your Rahkshi.” “What trouble?” Bitil replied. “Anything you have to say to me, you can say before them.” Antroz said nothing. “…Well, far be it from me to order around the Great Antroz. Charla, please show them in.” Bitil vanished, and Charla opened the doors to the tower. Zaekura thanked her. Once they were inside, the Rahkshi closed the doors behind them, and Bitil soon emerged from the central stairwell. “Why don’t you introduce us, Antroz?” Bitil said. “Bitil, this is Zaekura,” Antroz said shortly. “Zaekura, Makuta Bitil. Now then—“ “That was awfully brief! Where are the manners you’re renowned far and wide for? Or is your business here really just that pressing?” “I’m afraid it is.” Bitil rolled his eyes. “Oh, I’m sure.” Zaekura waved. “Hey, nice to meet you. Love what you’ve done with your Rahkshi.” This surprised Bitil. After gawking at the girl for a moment, he said, “Really?” “Yeah. I mean, I didn’t get a good look at too many of them, but I think it’s a really neat concept that you’re messing around with. Hopefully I’ll get to meet a few more while I’m here.” Bitil beamed. “Why thank you! Oh, that is such a nice change of pace—the only ones who normally come by here are other Makuta, and they’re always repulsed by my offspring.” Zaekura turned to Antroz and raised an eyebrow. “What? Is that why you’re being so uptight? What do you have against these Rahkshi, is it just that they’re not yours?” Antroz adjusted her mask. “No, it is the enhanced sapience that we find disagreeable. Rahkshi are like an extension of the Makuta who made them, so to see one with its own identity…well, imagine if your hand developed a mind of its own.” Zaekura stared at her palm. “But we have far more pressing matters to attend to,” Antroz said. “Bitil…we have come to request temporary asylum.” Bitil crossed his arms, giving one slow nod. “I see. What a very unusual thing to ask, especially considering you came in from the west. Was Ga-Koro booked full?” “Our route to Ga-Koro was cut off. You are the only one who can help us now.” “Hm. You come here and insult my Rahkshi, yet you expect me to help you?” “…I…apologize.” “That sounds convincing. Am I supposed to accept it?” “Surely, someone as intelligent as you would not let a simple, regrettable insult affect his judgment?” Bitil smirked. “Well when you put it like that…combined with the refreshing enthusiasm of Lady Zaekura, I suppose I can forgive and forget.” “Lady Zaekura?” the Glatorian repeated, the words bursting out like laughter. “Pal, do you have me pegged wrong!” Antroz bowed and said, “Thank you, my friend. Your compassion serves as inspiration even to me.” Bitil leaned to the side. “Never turn down a title, Zaekura, even if it is given to you by mistake. You never know how many people will believe that you deserve it.” “Uh…thanks for the tip,” Zaekura said. “So Antroz,” Bitil said, “you said you need asylum, but from what, exactly?” “You may recall that Lord Velika has begun work on a new breed of drone,” Antroz said. “A battalion of them has malfunctioned and gone rogue, and attacked us as we were leaving Nynrah. We managed to give them the slip, but thought it best to wait here a day or so, just to be safe. Afterwards we will return to Xia, where I can contact the Great Beings about the incident.” “You don’t say? Shame my outpost is not equipped with a direct line to our lords, not like the grand cities you Guardians watch over.” “Indeed, it is quite unfortunate. I will be sure to mention this in my report—I may be able to convince them to grant you one.” “Oh I don’t think that will be necessary. I am still sent messages when something is required of me. Why, just today, an automated courier flew here to deliver a message to me…word that one or two Makuta were staging a coup, alongside a certain fugitive.” Zaekura tensed. Antroz hoped it wasn’t obvious on her face. “Let’s see, who was it again? I know they gave me names, but I’ve been so busy since then, I just can’t seem to recall.” Bitil shrugged. “Anyway, they said to detain them by any means necessary, and to either take them to the Maze myself or send for someone to pick them up. I do hope I get the chance. Such a thing would surely curry the Great Beings’ favor.” Antroz inclined her head. “…You should play the fool more often, Bitil. It suits you.” “Ordinarily I’d be upset, but I’m just so glad you’re here, Antroz, that I’m willing to let it slide. Now, you understand that I have you vastly outnumbered, yes? It would be much easier on us all if you just cooperated.” “Wonderful,” Zaekura grumbled. “Absolutely downright wonderful. I’m so glad I followed the Makuta’s plan, it’s working out tremendously.” “Bitil,” Antroz said, “you do not understand the situation. There is no coup, and this girl is not dangerous.” Bitil turned around and took a few slow steps. “Sure, Antroz, sure. Whatever you say.” “She possesses a special talent, and that is all.” “A talent for crime? Odd to hear you put it that way, but—“ “They wish to execute her simply to protect their own authority, Bitil!” Bitil looked over his shoulder. “Zaekura has done nothing wrong. But the Great Beings have deemed that because of something she was born with, she is to be killed. Krika and I agree that such a thing must not be allowed to happen. So, we refused to turn her over…and Lord Velika sent his drones to attack Nynrah.” Antroz hung her head. “Two of its citizens…two innocent people died, trying to defend their home, while their neighbors fled to the safety of Ga-Koro. Krika flew into a rage…I know not what has become of him. These drones are equipped with weapons capable of killing even us.” Bitil stared at her for a long time. Then, he closed his eyes, smiled, and turned away, giving a forced laugh. “An excellent try, Antroz. But it will take more than that to turn me against the Great Beings. My loyalty will earn me a place in history, remembered forever as our lords’ most trusted servant and confident, standing by them when even the noble paragon Antroz turned to dark deeds. Your lies have no merit here. Now, surrender.” Antroz gritted her teeth. “…That’s all you care about, isn’t it? Yourself, your own glory. Haven’t you yet realized that’s precisely why the Great Beings stuck you out in the middle of nowhere without a city to call your own?” Bitil faced her and said, “I am trusted with a very important outpost, and am grateful that the Great Beings have deemed me worthy of its ownership! The trade route between Nynrah and Xia is the backbone of Spherus Magna’s economy, and it is I who have the privilege of keeping it safe.” “Krika and I could easily keep a small stretch of desert safe, and you know that! But no, you’ve spent so many years lying to yourself, deluding yourself into thinking you’re the most essential of us all, trying to console yourself in this earned loneliness, that you’ve actually begun to believe it! Open your eyes, Bitil: you are so insufferably arrogant that the Great Beings dare not sentence anyone to tolerate you, and so you have been left with nothing but your precious Rahkshi, offshoots of your own being! At the end of it all, you still have only yourself for company!” Bitil glared at her for a long moment. “…And what, exactly, is the point of this slander?” Antroz stepped forward. “The Great Beings have gone too far this time. They have endangered and ended innocent lives out of nothing but frightened vanity. If you truly cared for the people of this world, as we Makuta are meant to do, you would take a stand against this injustice, and not seek to profit from it!” Bitil looked at Zaekura, then back to Antroz. “I still have no reason to believe you. It’s unthinkable, what you claim—the Great Beings are benevolent by nature! Even you have always said as much.” “And doesn’t the fact that I’m not saying so now mean anything to you?” He had no answer for that. “Bitil…I do not ask you for much. All I want is for Zaekura’s safety to be guaranteed until she can be moved somewhere else.” The glittering Makuta crossed his arms and paced across the room, appearing to think the matter over quite thoroughly. Zaekura sweated as she watched, and when the door opened behind her, she nearly leapt out of her armor. “Lord Bitil,” Charla said, taking a hesitant step inside. “Forgive the intrusion, but…Makuta Antroz is not lying.” Bitil’s eyes widened. Antroz muttered, “I should have expected.” Zaekura retorted, “Hey, if it helps, don’t complain.” Bitil walked forward swiftly, saying, “Charla, what are you saying? Tell me exactly.” Charla gave a wary glance in Antroz’s direction. “I was monitoring the conversation, and when she explained what happened at Nynrah…the emotions she’s feeling are very powerful, and memories came up with them. Reading them without drawing her attention was easy.” Bitil took a step back. “…Then…” “I’m afraid so, my lord.” He stood perfectly still for a moment, and then put a hand over his mask. “…Thank you, Charla. Please, if you could step back outside, I would appreciate it.” The Rahkshi nodded and ducked out. A thick silence filled the chamber in her wake. “It really is unthinkable,” Bitil mused. “I need to know more, Antroz.” Antroz nodded. “Of course.” As Bitil turned, he caught sight of Zaekura. “You will not be harmed here. You have my word, and Charla will personally see that it is carried out.” Zaekura let out a long breath. “Thanks, that’s, uh…that’s really nice to finally hear. Is there someplace I can lie down?” Bitil opened the door, ushering her out. Facing Antroz once again, he said, “Alright, Antroz, I want all of it. Down to the last detail. I need to know just what you’ve dragged me into.” *** The wind blew through Antroz’s wings. She stood with Bitil at the top of his watchtower, and while it wasn’t exactly the same, it did remind her of her own tower in Xia. The nostalgic feeling eased her, if only a little. Across the balcony, Bitil was gripping the railing tightly, leaning forward like he was about to be sick; he knew everything now, and it didn’t sit well with him at all. “This is…terrible,” he said. “How could the Great Beings do such a thing? And to think, that we may have been…complicit in this, this…” Antroz said nothing. She too lacked the words they both needed. “What are you going to do?” Bitil asked, turning around. “There’s no way you can keep her safe from the Great Beings! They’ll find her eventually!” “Krika has shown me it may be possible, but I am still hoping for a more ideal resolution. Once I am certain none of the drones have picked up our trail, I will return to Xia, and I will arrange to meet with the Great Beings to negotiate with them.” Bitil shook his head. “It doesn’t sound like that approach has been working.” Antroz shifted. “…The Great Beings have fallen into an irrational, reprehensible course of action—that I cannot deny. But I also cannot deny that they are more intelligent than anyone else on this planet. It may take time, but I am sure I can help them to look beyond their fear, to see the error of their ways and resolve to make amends. When that happens, Zaekura can return safely to Nynrah.” “Hmm. Well, I suppose I can keep her here for a while, as long as the Great Beings don’t know that she’s here. It may be nice to have a house guest.” “Yes, especially one that’s taken an interest in your…hobby.” Bitil threw up one arm as he turned back around. “Why must you be like that? The point is, she will be cared for, so you can focus on your negotiations. I dearly hope they go well.” “Thank you.” “But, what about Krika? Assuming he survived fighting these drones, will he know that you’ve brought Zaekura here?” “I burned an image of a Faxon into the rock around our tunnel’s exit. He’ll understand my meaning.” Bitil smirked. “So, you really felt you could trust me?” “I felt we could trick you, Bitil.” He scowled. “But I will admit, I do now find myself feeling a modicum of trust.” “How touching. Though perhaps I should simply take what I can get…” The two Makuta moved towards the stairwell. Antroz stopped suddenly, sensing a new source of movement above them. She told Bitil, “Something’s coming.” He went back to the railing while she ducked inside. It was another courier, a small, flimsy-looking sheet of metal with two propellers and a clamp that held a wrapped tablet. It flew away as soon as Bitil took the message from it; he quickly removed the covering and read over the message, while Antroz cautiously poked her head up from the stairs. “Seems we’ve hit a bit of a snag,” Bitil said. He held the tablet out in Antroz’s direction so she could read it too. When he eventually remembered she couldn’t, he pulled it back and said, “It’s an update from the Great Beings on your situation. They want to make it easier for us to turn you in, so Lord Angonce is heading back to Xia to wait for you there. Returning home no longer seems advisable.” Antroz stepped back onto the balcony. “No, this is good. It means I can negotiate with Lord Angonce directly.” “You can’t be serious,” Bitil said. “He’ll reduce you to dust the moment he sees you—Zaekura too. And if not him…” He looked back at the tablet. “It may not specify, but it’s hard to imagine he left without any of the Guards…” “I will still go. I trust that the Great Beings will listen to me.” Bitil sighed. “If you want to walk right into your death, then fine, but I insist you leave Zaekura here. She has no means of protecting herself in a worst-case scenario.” Antroz reached out with her mind. She could sense Zaekura down at one of the outpost’s storehouses, conversing excitedly with a group of Rahkshi thanks to Charla’s assistance. The fear that had constantly exuded from the girl was still there, but it was now much harder to sense, buried in the back of her mind to allow her a moment of relaxation. “…Very well, Bitil. I can agree to that.” ADDENDUM: -Since Bitil’s best known for surrounding himself with his time duplicates, I thought giving him a large horde of Rahkshi would be a reasonable equivalent since, as Antroz says, Rahkshi are also extensions of the Makuta who made them. But having them all just be plain old Rahkshi would be boring! I’ve got a handful of ideas for Rahkshi variants that I’m really looking forward to testing out. -I worry that the names of Bitil’s Rahkshi might grow a bit silly, but I’ll do my best to keep them respectable. “Charla” was originally “Charlotte”, but I thought that would be too mundane—I wanted a name similar to “Charles” in reference to Professor X. “Virban” was derived from “viking” and “barbarian”. And of course, “Neton” is based on “Newton.” -In the Prime Universe, Bitil controlled a group of Southern Islands, so he was free to be anywhere in this world. I don’t want all the Makuta to use the exact same color scheme, and with Bitil being so utterly obnoxious and self-important, I felt the only thing he would accept was armor that was pure gold. The ornamental design and spiked shoulders were loosely inspired by Exdeath from Final Fantasy V. The Kanohi Faxon is meant to be a bit ironic, a being who repulses everyone possessing the Mask of Kindred. I was also considering giving him a Sanok, but I couldn’t think of a particularly good reason why, so the Faxon won in the end. -A bit of quiet chapter, admittedly, but this seemed the best place to stop for now. Section V is shaping up to be quite the turning point. -Reviews to be submitted here

I knew this post would be worth it. But it can't talk

There are many things wrong with this image. How many can you find?

There's an option in the system menu where you can create a name for your Switch for some reason. It defaults to "[username]'s Switch", but that's boring, but I don't know what to go with. Currently taking suggestions, I think the character limit is around 30?

Glad to see I'm not the only one who won't let MNOGII live it down

Thank you! Chapter 12 is out now, and, uh...things happen. Things happen a lot.

Chapter 12 Sonia had a new spring in her step as she came down the Wave Road. Claud and Kidd were waiting near Alohaha Castle, and turned to greet her as she closed in. “Morning, guys!” Sonia said. “How’re you doing today?” “Nothing new to report,” Kidd said. “Though, I think we’d best stay on our toes.” “You’re sure in a good mood today, Sonia,” Claud said. “What’ve you been up to?” Grinning, Sonia said, “Not much really—I just finally got to spend some time with my girlfriend is all.” Gosh I love being able to say that. “Ah, so that’s it!” Claud said. “But hey, don’t forget to spend a little time with us before you head back!” Sonia laughed and set a hand on Claud’s head. “Of course I won’t—you’re my Brother, after all! Now let’s do our best to keep this place Noise-free!” “You got it!” Claud said, saluting. Beneath them, the Echo Ridge students were gathering in the plaza, with Shepar keeping a close eye to make sure no one wandered off. Luna was brimming with energy; she faced the group and said, “Isn’t this exciting? This sort of opportunity only comes around every so often!” “I am looking forward to learning more about the environmental system,” Geo said. “It’s remarkable how much it’s evolved over the years—makes you wonder what it could be able to do in the future.” Luna turned to Jack, who was staring off in the opposite direction, hands firmly in his pockets. “We’ll also be learning about Alohaha’s history, so you’d better pay attention, Jack!” Jack whirled, wide-eyed. “What?! Why me?” “It’s probably going to be on our next exam. We’ve still got to improve that history grade of yours!” “O-Oh…right,” Jack mumbled. He quickly turned away. “…Jack, are you okay?” Pat asked. “You seem kind of distracted.” “What do you mean?” Jack snapped. “I’m perfectly fine, I was just…” As he trailed off, he caught sight of Tia: she was standing a few steps away from Shepar, watching the class with a totally blank expression. Calming himself, Jack said, “…It’s nothing. Just forget about it.” Before anyone could question him, Shepar called, “Alright class! It’s about time for us to head in!” As the class slowly made their way inside the castle, Sonia, Claud, and Kidd proceeded along the Road towards the environmental system. Lyra muttered, “Oh.” “Hm?” Sonia said. “What is it, Lyra?” “I’m detecting Noise. Curious I wasn’t picking it up earlier, it feels like quite a bit…” “What, it’s in here?” Claud said. “No way! Strong would’ve smashed any Dealers who tried to make trouble in his house.” “Curious indeed,” Kidd said. “Perhaps something was done while Lord Strong was away?” Sonia scanned the room. “Can you tell where it’s coming from, Lyra?” The class came to a stop before the system’s console. Shepar took one step forward and said, “Excuse me, Strong? It’s the Echo Ridge class—we were scheduled to do a tour today.” “Oh no,” Lyra said. “This can’t be good at all…” Without any warning, the ground began to shake. Claud said, “W-What is that? An earthquake?!” “Impossible,” Kidd said. “The environmental system should prevent such occurrences.” “I’m afraid that won’t be the case today,” Lyra said. “The system is where all the Noise is coming from!” Sonia froze. “What?!” Shepar stumbled backwards, trying to regain his footing. “What the…class, is everyone still here? Don’t panic! We need to make our way back outside and find someplace safe!” A thunderous laugh echoed through the castle. In a bright flash of light, Club Strong appeared, his form so massive he barely fit in the building; he looked down at the class with an air of smugness, and shook his head. “There is no safety!” he said. “All of Alohaha is mine!” Claud’s jaw dropped. “Is…is that…Strong?” “People of Alohaha!” Strong bellowed. “Your deity has been reborn, stronger than ever before! But my days of playing guardian to you weaklings are over!” “No,” Kidd whispered. “No, Lord Strong would never behave this way…” “This is just a taste of what I can do—if I wanted, I could sink this entire island into the sea! So if you don’t want that to happen, you better come up with a way to appease me, heheh!” Sonia watched as he spoke, totally stunned. “But…I gave him a Filter. Did he not install it?” “I’ll be waiting! You know where to find me! Hahahaha!” Strong vanished just as quickly as he had appeared. The class was in full panic now, most of them bolting for the door. Shepar’s gaze lingered a moment where Strong had been, but he quickly pulled himself together and followed the kids, doing his best to keep them together. Tia, calm as ever, tapped Jack on the shoulder, and the two of them slipped away in the confusion. Luna, Geo, Pat, Bud, and Zack remained in the castle, and Geo got out his Hunter. “Sonia?” Turning, she put a hand against the side of her helmet that the mic extended from. “Geo? Is everyone okay down there?” “Yeah, we’re fine. Didn’t you say that you gave Strong a Noise Filter?” “I did! I don’t know how this—“ “The important thing,” Lyra interrupted, “is that it is happening, and now we must deal with it. Shall we proceed into the system?” “Hold on,” Luna said. “Shouldn’t some of us go help deal with the earthquake? Some people might be in real danger!” “Perhaps,” Ophiuca said, “though we would be splitting our forces…” “Bah, no need to worry about that!” Mega said. “I’m sure each one of us is tough enough to handle this guy! So who’s going where?” Sonia looked to Kidd and Claud. Both were still staring at the environmental system, oblivious to the conversation around them. It makes sense: Strong was really important to them, so they don’t know how to handle this big of a change. I can’t ask them to fight him. “Claud, Kidd,” she said. They snapped out of their trance. “You two know this place the best, so I think you’d be our best choices for keeping the people safe.” “Uh…yeah,” Claud said, “we can do that.” Hesitantly, Kidd said, “Are you certain…you won’t need our help freeing Lord Strong?” Sonia smiled. “Positive. Just leave it to us!” “We’ll be up in just a second, Sonia!” Bud said. Geo moved to end the call, but Sonia said, “Wait. Geo…with your Mega Attack, you’d be able to get in and out of difficult places really quickly. I think you should go with Claud and Kidd.” “Really?” he said. “Are you sure the three of you will be okay?” Bud scowled. “Hey, the three of us are more than enough! I’ll singe the moss right off that guy’s butt!” “I’m sure we’ll manage,” Luna said. “Now get a move on! We can’t afford to waste more time debating!” “Alright,” Geo said. “Good luck. Pat, Zack, let’s get you back to the class.” Pat nodded, but Zack said, “I might be able to help! If I access the environmental system from here, then maybe—“ A particularly violent tremor shook the castle. “But Strong’s the one holding the admin privileges,” Geo said. “You’re good, Zack, but against that I don’t think even you will be able to gain much headway.” Zack looked down. “Right…” “If everything’s settled,” Lyra said, “then let’s not delay any further, yes?” Sonia nodded and ran for the environmental system’s access point, warping inside the system while the others ran to complete their own tasks. Strong waited inside, surrounded by screens that were constantly scrolling with massive amounts of data, all while a faint siren could be heard blaring. “ERROR, ERROR,” an automated voice repeated over and over. “Darn thing won’t shut up,” Strong said. “So you showed up after all, Harp Note! Good—I wanted someone to test my new power, and you were the best choice!” Sonia initiated a transformation to Taurus Noise, the amount of Noise in the system so immense she was able to immediately increase the connection to 50%. “Strong, what happened? This isn’t like you at all! Did Dealer get to you before you could install the Filter?” “Oh I installed it alright. But the card they used was so powerful it broke the program to bits! And now…” He hefted his club. “That kind of power is mine! I wonder how long it’ll take me to smash you into pieces, hahahaha!” “Well, that’s an important bug report we’ll have to get back to Mr. Boreal,” Lyra commented. “You’re going to hurt the people of Alohaha if you keep this up,” Sonia said. “Don’t you still care about them?” “Of course not! Those pathetic humans have nothing to offer me.” Sonia sighed. “I guess I won’t be able to reason with you…” Bud and Luna finally arrived, coming to either side of Sonia and readying themselves for battle. Luna said, “You mentioned he was already tough, and I know Noise Cards provide quite a boost. How bad do you think this is going to be?” Sonia looked at her and smiled. “I’m not worried.” Strong frowned. “Feh. If you’re going to be like that, maybe I should give you something to warmup on!” He reached for one of the many screens floating around, smashing a giant finger onto a button. The lion statues that lined the Wave Road glowed briefly, and then began to move, slowly stepping forward to surround the intruders. “No time for small fries!” Bud said, already burning red-hot. “Come on, Strong: you and me! Let’s settle this before anyone gets hurt!” Without waiting for a response, Bud charged forward. Sonia tried to stop him, but the statues took the opportunity to launch their attack, several of them pouncing on her and Luna at once. Luna used her eyebeams to shatter one of them, meanwhile Sonia flung one backwards with a punch. “He’s always so impatient,” Luna said. The snakes on her arms shot a series of blasts at the ground between her and the statues, creating a wide swath of purple muck to encourage them to keep their distance. Sonia shot a fireball into the mass, and a second later, chunks of stone were flying everywhere. “If it works, I certainly won’t complain.” Bud rushed right up to Strong and threw a vicious uppercut at the Wizard’s jaw. The leaping blow connected, making Strong take a half-step back, and before Bud even landed he shot a blast of intense flame at his foe. The resulting smokescreen completely enshrouded Strong, but judging from his grunts of pain, the move stung decently, and that was enough for Bud. “Take that!” he shouted, pumping his fists. “Maybe you should change your name, you pushover! Haha—“ His laughter was cut short when Strong’s club emerged from the cloud of smoke, ramming directly into him. The mighty blow sent Bud flying. “Not bad,” Strong said, stepping into view. “You got a good punch there, kid! Now get up and come at me again!” “Bud!” Sonia shouted. She beat back another statue and ran to his side, but he was already getting up. “Rats,” he grunted. “Okay then, this time I won’t let up!” He barreled past Sonia, through a couple of statues, and up to Strong once more—the Wizard swung his club downward, but Bud skidded to a halt, dug in, and caught the weapon in both hands, managing to cushion the blow. Unfortunately, Strong continued to press, leaving him unable to get out from under the bludgeon. He pushed up with a mighty heave. The club lifted, and Strong punched Bud with his free hand. The boy slid back a bit, but then unleashed a volley of fire blasts that caught Strong off-guard. After stumbling a few steps backward, Strong swung his club through empty air, and the wind around Bud whipped into a miniature tornado. He was too shocked to continue his attack, and so Strong took a lumbering step forward. Luna plowed through the last statue and fired her eyebeams at Strong, the hit just enough to make him stop. When he looked her way, he saw Sonia next to her, and she slammed her guitar into the Wave Road to call up a series of flame pillars that advanced rapidly on him. Strong endured the hit and reared back. “Rain of Fists!” He punched a hundred times in the span of one second. The force of each blow caused a devastating, precise shockwave to shoot forward, and the storm of blows battered Sonia, Luna, and Bud before they could figure out a way to dodge. Strong took another step to get in range of Bud, and then swung his club to flatten him. “Heh, maybe you aren’t worth my time after all, Harp Note,” Strong said. “Keep playing with my pets for now.” He pressed another screen, and suddenly the statues reappeared along the edges of the Road, completely repaired. She was surprised for a moment before she resumed blasting them. “Come on, it’s not that strange! I’m the admin here—I have complete control over this system, meaning I can return it to its previous state with the press of a button! Those statues will keep coming until one of them finally makes a meal out of you!” Sonia entangled one of them in strings, and then turned back to Strong. “You’re still in there somewhere, aren’t you? What part of you thinks what you’re doing is right?!” Strong laughed. “Sorry girl, but like I said: I’ve been reborn! I’m nothing like the old Strong, who wasted his days watching these worthless insects. All I want is power, and glory, and fear!” She shook her head. “Darn it…all this from one card?” As she returned to the statues, Strong looked down at Bud, who was back on his feet. He grinned and shrugged. Bud snorted, punching the ground to call up a ring of flame pillars around Strong—a low sweep of the club came for him, but he leapt high into the air and aimed at Strong’s face. He shot a rocket punch, grazing his target, and then was tossed about by another tornado. “Sonia!” Luna said. “I can handle these things! You go help Bud!” Sonia kicked a statue back and split its head with her guitar, and then turned towards Luna. “Are you sure?” Luna beamed. “What sort of question is that? You know better than to doubt me!” With a giggle, Sonia jumped away from the statues and bolted for Strong. A few tried to chase her, but with a wave of her hand, Luna summoned snakes to trip the creatures up. She strafed to avoid another statue’s pounce, obliterating it with a look. “Strong!” Sonia shouted. “No matter what it takes, I’m going to free you from this!” She shot a fireball, and Strong batted it away with his club. “What’s that? I’m freer now than I’ve ever been! You’re a bit late, Harp Note!” Sonia rolled aside to dodge the club. Strong stepped forward and swung again, but she was able to narrowly avoid that blow as well, and shot a fireball into his face to blind him. She glanced at Bud—he bounded forward, jumped up, and punched Strong in the chest as hard as he could, letting the flame jet on his gauntlet flare up for a bit of extra push. Strong stepped back and doubled over, clutching his injury. “Now’s our chance!” Sonia shouted. Flames surrounded her guitar as she ran forward, and she smacked Strong in the face with it. Noticing Bud wasn’t joining her, however, she turned to see him breathing heavily, his armor no longer glowing with heat. The distraction cost her: Strong sent her rolling away with a kick, and then he too turned to Bud. Something that looked like a seed shot from Strong’s mouth, bouncing down the Road until it collided with Bud—it broke open on contact, and a bunch of vines burst out and wrapped around the boy. “So the two of you can test my new power!” Strong said. “Good, I was beginning to get worried!” He grabbed another screen. This time, the surface of the Road transformed into a bed of grass, and Strong grinned as he walked towards where Bud stood. Bud tried his best to break free, only for Strong to smash his club down repeatedly, leaving him in a crumpled mess on the ground. Sonia only made it a few steps before Strong summoned a tornado around her, the wind ripping up a number of grass blades and turning them into deadly razors that made the pain unbearable. She fell to her knees and paused to catch her breath. “You okay?” Luna said, setting a hand on her shoulder. “Starting to wish we’d brought a fourth,” Sonia chuckled. “Think you can get Bud out of there? I’ll handle the lions if he rebuilds them.” “I thought you’d never ask!” Luna advanced on Strong, earning a laugh from the giant. He tapped a screen and tall wooden spikes began to spring up in Luna’s path, threatening to skewer her—she wove expertly around each of them, ultimately coiling around one and riding it as it rose, letting her eyebeams slice all the way up Strong’s side. With a single swing, Strong decimated the makeshift forest. Luna leapt onto his arm as it went by, slithering up closer to his face, and let her snakes pepper him with poison blasts. Strong looked annoyed now. He rotated his arm swiftly, knocking Luna loose, and then slammed her into the ground with his club. “Luna!” Sonia shouted, jumping up. She ran forward, but Luna recovered quickly, and was now letting her snakes blast Strong’s ankles while she had her eyes locked on his arms. “I believe Bud needs our help more, dear,” Lyra said. A handful of Luna’s snakes had made their way over to Bud and gnawed through the vines restraining him—he was in the process of getting up, but he looked awfully worn out. She ran to his side. “I can’t believe this,” Bud grumbled. “How is he so tough? I should be doing way better than this!” “It’s okay, Bud,” Sonia said. “We’ll just have to keep trying until—“ Bud beat his fist against the ground. “I’ve been landing hit after hit, and he just keeps swatting me like a fly! Why can’t I hurt him? Haven’t I gotten strong enough to do that much?!” Sonia paused. “Bud…” A shout from Luna drew her attention. Strong had used a whirlwind to blow her away, and now several more wood towers were rising up. He swung his club, and they all snapped in two, collapsing on Luna in a pile. Without thinking, Sonia sprang forward: she dialed up the power of her guitar and played, sending a massive fireball up at Strong that erupted in a brilliant display. Sonia started for Luna, but then stopped and looked back to Bud. He was standing now, and he nodded before running at Strong once again. “Luna!” Sonia shouted as she ran over. “Luna, are you okay?” After she pulled aside a few of the logs, Luna was able to squeeze her way out, leaning on Sonia for support as she rose. “Thanks,” she said. “How’s Bud doing?” Her question was answered when he crashed into the pile of wood behind her. They all turned to Strong, realizing he was rearing back his fist again, and Sonia quickly moved to get in front of Luna. Another Rain of Fists came down on them, though Luna came out nearly unscathed. Sonia, on the other hand, slumped on the ground. “Sonia!” Luna exclaimed. She gently took hold of the other girl, trying to steady her. “What a waste,” Strong said. “If you saw it coming, you should’ve saved yourself! Now you’ve just wasted your endurance—you won’t be as much of a challenge now, and that girl’s no replacement!” Glaring up at him, Luna said, “I was doing pretty well a moment ago, in case you’ve forgotten!” Sonia laughed weakly. “You tell him…” With a roar, Bud rose once again. Picking up one of the logs, he hurled it through the air at Strong, managing to deal a blow to his shoulder. While Strong was stunned, Bud exhaled a huge amount of flames that washed over the grass in front of them, burning it all away and covering Strong as well. The Wizard shouted, and Bud staggered forward. Luna used the chance to help Sonia to her feet. “We need to finish this fast,” Sonia said. “Get ready!” Strong came charging out of the flames with his club held high. He swung downward, cracking the Wave Road on impact—luckily everyone was able to get out of the way. Sonia used a series of quick blasts to draw his attention, and when he turned, Luna’s eyebeams hit him in the face, sending him stumbling back towards Bud. Rushing at his foe’s foot with all his might, Bud collided with the hunk of rock and pushed, causing Strong to lose his balance and topple over. Sonia and Luna immediately unloaded everything they had, with Bud joining them as soon as he found a safe place to stand. Strong tried to get up, but it was no use: his bulky body made the task a difficult one, and the constant pain made it impossible for him to concentrate. He yelled in rage, and reached out with his free hand. “We’re almost there!” Sonia said. “Just a bit longer, and we’ll have you back to normal, Strong!” Strong clenched his teeth. “That’s what you think!” His finger just barely brushed the screen he was straining for. At once, an intense rain storm kicked up within the system, blowing Luna back in surprise and extinguishing the flames of Sonia and Bud. For Sonia the pain stopped when her transformation went down a stage—for Bud, it persisted. “Heheh…” Strong chuckled, finally getting into a better position. “You had me worried for a second there. I knew you’d let me really see what this new power can do, Harp Note.” Sonia fumbled for her guitar and began blasting Strong, trying to keep him down. “This isn’t your power! If that was enough to beat us, you wouldn’t need to manipulate the system like this!” Strong pushed himself upright, looking more annoyed than damaged. “…Not what I hoped for, maybe…but the point is, I still win.” Luna fired her eyebeams at Strong’s feet, creating a thick layer of stone to try to anchor him. It took some effort, but he broke free, and the first thing he did was create one massive tornado that scattered the three of them. “The people won’t know any better,” Strong said. “All they’ll see is that I’ve bested the legendary Harp Note in battle! That should be more than enough to scare everyone into line!” Sonia grabbed her head—it was still spinning. She tried to find her guitar, but she wasn’t sure where it was. “Listen to yourself, Strong. I know you don’t really think that! They’ve reprogrammed you, changed who you were! Doesn’t that bother you?” “Not that much, no. I’m enjoying myself too much!” Strong felt something at his ankles. Looking down, he saw several snakes biting him, and brushed them away. He took a step towards a screen. “That’s enough fun for now, though. I’ll just destroy you all at once.” Sonia forced herself to sit up. She spotted her guitar, but wasn’t sure she could reach it in time. She moved anyway, but as she did, she heard Bud shouting, and once the instrument was in her hand she was able to look. Burning red-hot once more, Bud had landed a rocket punch directly in Strong’s face, and was now running in to continue the assault, his aura of heat turning all the rain around him into steam before it could touch him. Sonia ran to where Luna was. Strong took a swing, but Bud rammed right into the weapon and sent it spinning out of its owner’s hand. Luna and Sonia both took aim, and when Bud shot a focused beam of flame up at Strong, they added attacks of their own to floor their opponent once more. “ERROR,” the automated voice continued, “ERROR, ERROR, ERR—ANOMALY DETECTED. SYSTEM MALFUNCTION. INITIALIZING SYSTEM…” The rain stopped. The statues reappeared, but they were mere statues once more. Strong groaned horribly, and in a burst of green, his massive body evaporated to leave his original self lying there. Sonia sighed heavily. “It’s over.” Bud collapsed next to Strong. “Yikes…that was rough…” “No complaining,” Luna ordered. “We won, didn’t we? Now come on: we need to be sure the earthquake has stopped.” She and Sonia made their way over, and each put one of Strong’s arms around their shoulder so they could lift him. Bud managed to get on his feet before much longer, and the group slowly but surely made their way back to the Real World, happy to see it was no longer shaking. After setting Strong down, everyone undid their Wave Changes and took a seat. “Thanks for your help,” Sonia said. “Though I guess it’s not much of a vacation if you end up having to work, is it?” Luna shook her head. “It’s not as if I’d prioritize our vacation over everyone’s safety! Besides…” She fidgeted a bit, and then finished, “It’s more time I get to spend with you.” Sonia smiled, taking Luna’s hand. “…We really need to have more dates that don’t involve our lives being in danger.” “Hehe, I’m going to hold you to that! You’d better come up with something nice.” “Alright, leave it to me!” A beep from Sonia’s guitar interrupted them. A message from Geo had arrived, saying that no one was seriously injured; Sonia told him Strong was back to normal, and that they were waiting at the castle until he woke up. Geo’s reply asked if any Crimson had appeared. “Oh, I forgot about that,” Sonia said. “Do you think it’s still in there?” “I suppose we should check,” Luna said, not sounding very thrilled about the idea. “Though even if there is, what are we going to do with it?” As the two of them got up, Strong began to stir. His eyes slowly opened, and he looked around before finally getting up. Sonia said, “You’re awake. How are you feeling?” Strong stared at her for a moment. “…Was it…a dream?” She averted her eyes. “I see.” Strong put a hand over his face. “How shameful. To think that I would say such things—that I would put the people of Alohaha in danger, and simply for my own ego.” “Don’t blame yourself,” Luna said. “You weren’t in your right mind—whatever happened to you, you came out of it completely brainwashed! This wasn’t your fault, Strong.” Facing her, he said, “Still…I cannot forgive myself so easily. But, tell me, why did those agents of Dealer come here with you?” “…What?” “The two who corrupted me were with your class earlier.” “Excuse me? We’d know if someone from Dealer was in our class—you must be mistaken.” “No, I’m sure of it. The boy in the dark coat, and that stoic young woman. It was definitely them who did this.” Luna blinked. “…Jack…and Tia…?” She and Sonia looked to each other, a deep sense of dread filling them both. Sonia murmured, “That would…explain how they always know where we are. Jack was at the studio, and they were both at the rocket launch, too.” “B-But…that can’t be!” Bud said, leaping to his feet. “Sure Jack’s a bit of a jerk, but he can’t be with Dealer! He…he just can’t…” Luna put a hand over her mouth. “They did show up right before all this started…oh no. This is terrible!” “Where are they now?” Sonia asked. “Still with the class?” She turned to leave, but stopped short. Someone was entering the castle: a very tall, broad-shouldered man with dark skin, wearing a burgundy-colored coat and narrow sunglasses. “Um, sir, it’s still not safe here!” Sonia said. “You should go find shelter in case there’s an aftershock!” The man came about half-way across the room before he stopped. “Pathetic. And you dare to call yourself ‘Strong’?” Coming forward, Strong said, “My deepest apologies. The environmental system is functioning again—I assure you that everyone is safe once more.” Luna tugged on Sonia’s sleeve. “Let Strong talk to him. We need to warn the others!” Reluctantly, Sonia nodded. She and Luna began to make their way out as the man went on, “I had high hopes for you. But in the end, you’re just as weak as all the other pawns. At least this time, I am permitted to erase your miserable existence.” A chill crept up Sonia’s spine. She looked back to see the man making a fist, and shouted in confusion as he punched Strong. The Wizard’s face contorted in agony…and then he was gone. Several orbs of light flew outward from where he had been—at first she wasn’t sure what they were, but soon it came to her. That was all that remained of Strong. “…What…?” From where he stood at the back of the castle, Bud ran towards the man. “You…how could you?! That was a cheap shot, you—“ The man made a sweeping blow with his arm, knocking Bud out instantly. “You and he are no different: weaklings claiming you have strength. Count yourself lucky that my orders don’t include you.” “H-Hey!” Luna shouted. “What do you think you’re doing?!” “Bud…” Sonia mumbled. “Strong…!” The man looked over his shoulder at them for a second. Turning back, he reached into his coat and drew out a tube-like device, and twisted one end of it. Clouds of Crimson came streaming out of the environmental system and into the device, filling it until it was completely blood-red. He tucked the item back into his coat, and then he faced Sonia. “So you’re the one they chose to replace me,” he said. “Hmph. You may have shown some strength in the past, but the power of the Meteor Server is not for the faint of heart. I’m insulted that mother would even consider you.” Sonia struggled to process what was happening. There were so many questions flying through her mind that she couldn’t pick one to grab onto, and so she just stood there, gaping at this mysterious person who had appeared. “Sonia?” Luna asked, grabbing her shoulder. “Sonia, we have to do something!” Sonia swallowed hard. “R…right. I’ll stay here, and you go find…” She turned at the sound of footsteps. Jack and Tia were entering the castle now, looking right past her at the man in the coat. “Joker,” Tia said. “Collecting Crimson is our assignment. We shall be the ones to hand that over to Mr. King.” “You were about to miss your chance,” he said. “Take it if you want. But Mr. King would have been most displeased if you had let any Crimson be taken from us through your inaction.” Joker? Sonia thought. …Does that mean… Luna turned to look at Jack. “Jack? Ms. Tia? So…it’s really true?” Jack scratched the back of his head, looking to the side. “Yeesh, why did you still have to be here? You’re so obnoxious.” “Sonia,” Lyra said. “They have us surrounded. We should Wave Change quickly before—“ She stopped as a shrill laugh was heard. A Wizard materialized next to Tia: most of her body was made of clear blue water, with bits of gray and dark pink armor holding her together. “You should listen to your friend, little girl! It won’t be any fun to kill you if you don’t put up a fight, kyahahaha!” Lyra emerged with a shocked look. “Virgo?! What are you doing here?” The Wizard cocked her head. “Huh? Have we met? I don’t remember you, so you must not have left much of an impact…” Ophiuca came out next, leveling a deadly glare at Virgo. “My my. And here I was hoping Cepheus might’ve finally captured you. I suppose I should’ve known better than to be so optimistic.” Sonia’s sick feeling only grew worse. “Wait, are you saying this is an FM-ian?” Ophiuca nodded. “Virgo here used to be an elite solider, much like we were.” “We’re nothing like her!” Lyra spat. “This psychotic wretch liked killing a little too much, and when her commanding officer finally said something about it, she killed him too. She’s been a fugitive ever since.” “And it’s been a blast!” Virgo said. “Especially lately, with how much easier it’s gotten to kill people—right, Corvus?” Another Wizard emerged from Jack’s pendant: his black armor resembled a bird of prey, with wild orange energy filling in the gaps. Showing his teeth through a smirk, he said, “You know it! So, this is the great Harp Note we’ve heard so much about? Shouldn’t Mega be around here too? I heard you were inseparable.” This is bad, Sonia thought. We’re still tired from fighting Strong, and we’ll need to protect Bud as well. “You want to save them, don’t you?” Sonia turned slightly. Joker had come closer without her realizing it, and she only now realized how much he towered over her. She wanted to face him, to say something, but she couldn’t—she was trembling with fear. “Pathetic. So much power could be yours, and you’d squander it protecting weaklings. If they don’t have the power to protect themselves, then they don’t deserve to exist.” Luna clenched her fists and glared up at him. “Where do you get off saying garbage like that? Get out of here before we show you just how wrong you are!” Joker sneered. “Excuse me?” Luna turned back to Jack. “And you! How can you work with a guy like this, to say nothing of FM-ian criminals! I thought we were finally starting to get along, Jack! Was all of this just a game to you?” Scowling at her, Jack said, “O-Of course it was! Gosh, you are so dense! Shut up for once in your life, will you? I’ve half a mind to—“ “Jack,” Tia said. “Calm down.” Jack looked at her for a moment, and then turned aside. “I dunno,” Corvus said, “this girl’s getting on my nerves too. I say we just axe the lot of them right now!” Virgo laughed. “Oh, that sounds like so much fun! Can we, Tia? Can we?” “Out of the question,” Tia said. “Mr. King has given us strict orders.” “Oh, boo! I’m sure we can collect plenty of Crimson without them!” Ignoring her, Tia looked back to Joker. “Don’t you have somewhere to be?” “My target has yet to arrive,” Joker said. “I hope, for your sake, that this event was enough to draw him out.” Luna whirled, ready to snap at him, but caught sight of Sonia. The other girl hadn’t moved an inch. “…Sonia?” What do I do? Sonia thought. I don’t want to let them get away, but we really can’t afford a fight right now! “Sonia,” Luna said. “I know this is a surprise, but we have to do something!” “What can you do?” Joker asked. “You are the weakest one here.” “Give it a rest!” Luna said. “I’m sick of hearing that from you, and I’m not going to let you get away—not after what you did to Strong!” Sonia took a deep breath. Turning around finally, she said, “She’s right. How could you just delete him like that? He was no threat to you!” “That is precisely why I deleted him,” Joker said. “Weaklings annoy me. Weaklings who think they’re strong…they infuriate me.” She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Is strength all that matters to you? That sounds like a pretty miserable way to live.” “I’ll say!” Luna chimed in. “You’ll have to seriously rethink things once we put you in your place!” Joker gritted his teeth. “You two?” Pain. That was all Sonia processed at first—it took her a moment to realize she had been flung into the wall, and a moment more to realize that it was Joker’s arm that had flung her. “You two are the ones who need to learn your place.” “Sonia!” Luna shouted, running towards her. Sonia looked up at Luna as she approached. Behind her, Joker pulled back his fist, and her eyes widened. “Luna, watch—“ It happened in the blink of an eye, faster than anyone could attempt to stop it. Yet at the same time, to Sonia, that single moment lasted forever. Joker drove his fist into Luna’s back, knocking her forward. But she never hit the ground. Her body dissolved into a mass of light, one that broke into a dozen tiny pieces that each soared off in a different direction, leaving nothing but empty space where there was just a living, breathing girl. Corvus and Virgo seemed amused; Ophiuca, Lyra, and Jack stared on in shock; even Tia’s eyes widened, just a little. Sonia felt something sharp in her heart, followed by an all-consuming numbness. “…Lu…na…?” Joker turned and walked out of the castle. Tia said, “You were not permitted to kill her.” “She annoyed me,” Joker said. “I will discuss the matter with Mr. King later. Right now, I have other duties to attend to.” He left without another word. Tia waited a moment, but then recalled Virgo and tapped Jack’s shoulder. Jack stared up at her with a mix of emotions on his face. She spun him around and gently led him out, Corvus following with a snicker not soon after. Lyra and Ophiuca slowly floated over to Sonia. “…What…happened…?” Sonia asked. Her gaze was fixed on the point where Luna had stood. “W-Where…where is…she?” Lyra closed her eyes. “Oh Sonia…” “Luna?” Sonia called, getting to her feet. “Luna, you…what…where…” Ophiuca pulled her arms around herself tightly. “Sonia, Luna is…she’s…” Sonia took a step forward. None of it felt real, she thought—it couldn’t be real, she told herself. She knew that if she just reached out, Luna would be there. So, she reached out. And her hand moved through empty air. “…Th-This is some kind of dream,” Sonia stammered. “Y-Yeah, th-that’s…all…Luna’s fine, right, she’s…she’s just…” “Sonia!” Lyra shouted. Sonia turned to look at her. She turned to Ophiuca next. Finally, she looked back at the empty space in front of her, and the numbness wore off all at once. “…Luna…” Her emotions washed over her like a typhoon. “Luna…!” She shuddered and fell to her knees. “LUNA!!” She was gone, Sonia realized at last. And all she could do was scream. (Review)

I made some solid progress on another project, so I finally sat down and edited Right of Law Section III! This chapter is entirely made up of Krika trying to defend Nynrah from the army sent after Zaekura. Admittedly I don't have as much experience writing this sort of battle, but I think the result turned out well, and I'll of course strive to improve in either event. Makuta and Rahkshi give you so many options to play around with, though I do have to keep reminding myself that I can't use Shattering or Disintegration. No slip-ups in this part, at least! Next Section will introduce a new Makuta with a very unique skill. I hope to have it for you soon!

SECTION III Antroz stepped just inside the compound, closing the doors as a precaution; she remained standing in the entryway, using her telepathy to sense what was going on outside. Krika had centered the majority of his forces at Nynrah’s gate, with a few smaller pockets taking cover in more strategic locations and a single Chameleon Rahkshi stationed next to the line of fleeing citizens. He thinks that if they don’t see anyone guarding the escapees, they won’t suspect their target is among them. The army was closing in now. At this range, Antroz could sense them better, and found that there was something familiar about them, though she could not place what exactly. They halted their march, and Krika walked out to meet them. “My, more visitors already?” the Makuta said. “We’re becoming quite the hotspot. Tell me, what brings you all to Nynrah?” The forces remained silent for a time. Eventually, one stepped forward, and in a harsh, metallic voice, it barked, “Identified: Makuta Krika. Command: Release prisoner ‘Zaekura’ into our custody. Failure to comply will not be tolerated.” Krika rubbed his chin. “Zaekura? Hm, Zaekura…apologies, friend, but I haven’t the foggiest who you’re referring to.” “Failure to comply will not be tolerated. Final warning has been issued.” “Oh come now, don’t be like that,” Krika said. Turning slightly in the direction of the compound, he half-heartedly added, “Can’t we just talk this out like reasonable beings?” Antroz grunted to herself, thinking, This is hardly the time for mockery, you oaf. “Compliance absent. Directive: Seize prisoner by force.” Krika raised a hand over his mouth and gasped. “Oh my! What a surprising turn of events!” The army began to march forward again. “Are you certain you don’t simply want to talk? I think you look quite reasonable.” Krika pointed at one of the soldiers, but it didn’t react. “No? Pity.” In an instant, a long, thin spike extended from Krika’s fingertip, reaching over the few dozen unoccupied yards to impale the attacker. “I know some consider fighting an art form, but to be honest it doesn’t really suit my preferences.” The army raised their weapons and began to fire. As they charged forward, Krika retracted his spike, and the soldiers finally came close enough that Antroz could sense them in greater detail: they were machines of roughly humanoid design, with long, spindly limbs and small torsos, their hands fused with tube-like cannons, and aerodynamic heads with vaguely insectoid faces. They were a new type of security drone, Antroz recognized, designed by Velika and tested extensively over the past several months. She hadn’t realized that he was so far along, or that so many models had already been made. So then…Velika is simply eager to test his new inventions. Yes, that’s all. And I know that these machines possess non-lethal weaponry, and will only strike to kill if absolutely necessary. Krika’s worry was unfounded. The main Rahkshi force scattered as energy shots came in fast. Rahkshi of Heat and Laser Vision unleashed the first counter, making sweeping attacks with their powers that toppled huge swaths of the enemy forces. However, when the machines fell down, their limbs twisted and swiveled, instantly putting them upright again, and they continued their march as if nothing had happened. Krika snapped his fingers—a cyclone kicked up amidst the drones, yanking many off the ground and tossing them about the sky, and when Krika pointed down they were all flung directly into the ground and pinned there by intense gravity. Rahkshi of Electricity made the next attempt to thin the enemy lines. The drones were stunned by the electric blasts, but they recovered quickly and managed to land a few hits of their own in return. The Rahkshi in question stumbled a bit, but then resumed their offensive. I remember hearing that the drones use some sort of stun weapon, Antroz thought. Whatever the specifics, it seems they are not properly calibrated to be used against Rahkshi. Drones and Rahkshi were trading blows now. The machines had an edge in agility, allowing them to outmaneuver most of the Rahkshi’s attacks and slowly batter away at them; the lone Rahkshi of Accuracy present seemed to be doing the best, although their attacks did not cause much apparent damage to their targets. A Rahkshi of Density Control lunged at a stumbling drone, making their staff a hundred times heavier in mid-swing. The drone’s torso shattered on impact. This first casualty drew the drones attention, and while they were all looking at the same spot, Krika hurled a blinding orb of light, though it didn’t seem to hinder the advanced machines much at all. At this signal, however, a Power Scream Rahkshi leapt out from behind a nearby crag, unleashing their shriek from the drones’ left flank and catching them by surprise. The Rahkshi with vision powers took advantage of the confusion and were able to sear the limbs off several drones. “I’m almost insulted,” Krika declared, standing tall so the drones could see him. “The Great Beings believe a few inept robots can overrun Nynrah? I knew they thought little of me, but this is truly absurd!” Suddenly, the drones all froze. Feeling nervous, Krika commanded his Rahkshi not to exploit the opening. “Threat assessed as ‘severe’. Releasing weapon locks.” Krika’s eyes widened. He threw a massive blast of light, incinerating several of the drones, meanwhile his Rahkshi all joined in the attack with renewed vigor. Despite all this, they only took down an infinitesimal percentage of the overall force, and the rest soon raised their weapons and returned fire. The next blast that hit a Rahkshi punched a hole clean through it. Krika shouted. This is less than ideal…but, they are only doing this in response to his attack. Some of the drones were within range of Krika now. He was sure to keep his Dodge power active, expertly dancing around each blast. When he saw a chance, he threw a punch with his Elasticity powers, though his foes easily avoided the blow. What they could not avoid, however, were the twenty spikes that spontaneously grew from Krika’s long arm, severing their cranial units before retreating back into the Makuta’s limb. Krika reeled his arm in and then slashed the air with it: a repulsive magnetic force flung the decapitated drones backwards into their comrades, sending many stumbling back into the ongoing power scream from the flank. They tried their best to destroy that Rahkshi, but the oppressive sound waves were just enough to deflect their blasts by a few degrees and leave it unscathed. Unfortunately, many of the other Rahkshi were not faring as well. Krika teleported into the mass of enemies with his arms out—nearly a hundred spikes lashed out from his arms and back, each slaying a different foe, but a hundred more stepped into their place. Narrowly escaping, Krika took to the skies and reduced the density of his body to stay there a moment while a Rahkshi of Plant Control made itself known by commanding vines to rise from beneath the sands to entangle the invaders. “What’s going on?” Antroz jumped. She had been so focused on the battle that she hadn’t even sensed Zaekura’s approach. Facing the Glatorian, she said, “I was under the impression you would remain in that room?” Zaekura scowled. “I can hear something going on, so I came to see just how bad it is. Can you blame me for being curious who they sent to kill me?” “There’s no need to overreact. I’m sure that once Krika stops being aggressive, they will stand down and resume their search peacefully.” “Yeah, happy thought there. Again: what did they send?” Antroz briefly relayed what she knew about the drones, as well as how the Rahkshi were faring against them. As she talked, she could sense that a great many drones were being destroyed, but at the rate the Rahkshi were falling it was still just a matter of time until they overwhelmed Krika. Antroz thought it best not to mention that part to Zaekura. “Drones, huh?” Zaekura said. “Well that’s better than what I was expecting. Should be easier to sneak around those…” “We are staying right here,” Antroz said. “When this skirmish is over, we can negotiate properly.” Zaekura didn’t say anything. Antroz turned her mind back to the battle, though she was sure to keep a few thoughts on Zaekura lest she try to escape. She came back at about the same time a drone finally managed to get behind the Power Scream Rahkshi, disintegrating its head and neck in a single shot. “Wretched machines!” Krika yelled as he loosed another light blast. “You’re proving quite the inconvenience, you know!” He quickly activated his Invulnerability power to defend against an oncoming blast. When that was done, he extended both hands and triggered his Slow power, the effect gradually spreading over more and more drones the longer he focused. The remaining Rahkshi were quick to press their advantage and began mowing down row after row of machines, though they still had to deal with a few blasts from the drones that remained outside the range of Krika’s power. “I think we might’ve finally made it through a third of them,” Krika mumbled. “Good grief, this is really trying my patience.” “Makuta Krika!” He looked over his shoulder to see almost a dozen of his citizens running towards him. Each was holding some kind of weapon, though most could be best described as makeshift. Krika’s focus was gone. “What are you doing?!” he cried. “I told you to get out of here!” “We’re not going to abandon you!” Kirbold said, hefting a length of pipe. “You’re our Guardian—if anything happens to you, who would protect us?” “I can’t protect you in this fight! That’s why I told you to—“ He was cut off as he heard a Rahkshi die. One had tried to reduce their density to survive a blast, but the energy was so intense it was still enough to vaporize the nearly-intangible armor it struck. “Darn,” Krika said, trying to refocus his power. “Please, I’m begging you: get out of here! You see what these things can do, don’t you?” “It’ll take more than some fancy ray guns to scare us off!” said a Glatorian. “We’ve got something to protect, so we aren’t backing down!” They let out a battle cry and charged to meet the enemy. Krika quickly tried to adjust the energy he was projecting so that it would move around them, but that caused the entire energy field to waver to the point where it was useless. The Makuta teleported in front of the group and grabbed as many as he could. “I said get back!” he shouted. “This isn’t your fight!” The Glatorian was upon the drones now. “I beg to differ!” Raising his axe, he bellowed and lunged at the nearest target. It tumbled back to avoid his swing. He moved to follow up, but the next thing he knew, the barrel of its cannon was right in his face. Krika’s scream could be heard all the way at the compound. Zaekura took a step back, saying, “That…doesn’t sound good…” Antroz didn’t respond. She couldn’t. Her mind was lost in the mix of confusion, fear, and failure that had been the Glatorian’s last thoughts. Krika teleported with the citizens he had stopped over to his Chameleon Rahkshi, who took custody of them as he returned to the fight. Kirbold, a Toa of Fire, and a De-Matoran were still following through with their attack, either unaware of what had just befallen their friend or worse, emboldened by it. The De-Matoran was closest, so Krika went to them first. He commanded his Rahkshi to defend the others, but they were too busy dealing with their own opponents, and Kirbold was soon sent flying back into Nynrah’s wall. Thankfully the Toa of Fire seemed to be alright at the moment, smothering a drone with a flamethrower, so Krika teleported to Kribold’s side and gently picked him up. “Urgh…I’m sorry…Makuta,” the Agori croaked. “Stop talking,” Krika said. He turned to the De-Matoran. “Take him and get out of here—and don’t you dare come back! Use whatever medical supplies you have, but don’t stop moving unless you absolutely have to!” The Matoran was stunned for a moment, but then nodded and took the Agori. Krika turned around, trying desperately to spot the Toa, but he was the shortest combatant on the field by far, and there were fires burning everywhere. The Makuta ran forward blindly, shooting light at every drone he saw. “Jaller!” he called. “Jaller, where are you?” A jolt of pain brought him to his knees. One of the drones advanced upon him, cannon still smoking. Krika put a hand over the new hole in his armor, but antidermis continued to pour out of it. Before the drone could attack again, however, a fireball struck it in the head, and then the Toa sprang up onto its back and set the entire machine ablaze. “You worry too much, Makuta,” Jaller said, walking forward. “I’ve got this area covered, so why don’t you—“ He stopped mid-sentence as a blast tore open his stomach. Krika roared, starting forward to catch the falling Toa while also obliterating the drone that hit him with a plasma bolt. He set his citizen down and tried to examine his wound, but more drones were moving in, and they demanded his attention. Krika dispatched them as quickly as he could, but they just kept coming. “Y-You…can’t stay here,” Jaller groaned. “Well I can’t exactly move you in your condition!” Krika said. “I’m going to put you in a stasis field for now, and then—“ He yelled as a drone destroyed a piece of his essence. “No...you can’t afford…to waste that much…” Krika turned and hurled an endless stream of chain lightning, carving a line straight through the enemy ranks. “Excuse me? I’m a Makuta! I’ve got energy to spare, dear Toa! Now save your strength, so I…” He released his power and looked back at Jaller. Though he was trying to keep a straight face, the small being was weeping uncontrollably. “M-Makuta…please,” he whispered. “It’s too late…for me…you must know it…too…” Another drone fired. Krika bent over the Toa to shield him, barely able to make himself Invulnerable in time. “Don’t talk like that,” Krika said as he destroyed the drone. “I can still save you! You’ve much more to do, don’t you, Toa Jaller?” “Makuta,” Jaller said. “I know…I know…I’m going to die…I don’t want to…but there’s no way to stop it…now…” Krika just kept attacking. “I don’t want you…to waste power…trying to save me…b-but…if it isn’t too much to ask…” He sobbed. “I’m afraid…I’m so afraid to die…can you…” As he blasted away another line of enemies, Krika grunted, and knew he had to admit defeat. His hand shone with red light as he waved it over Jaller. “It’s alright, Jaller,” he whispered. “You can face your death with Courage.” In seconds, Jaller grew calm, his expression turning into one of acceptance. He looked up at Krika and said, “Thank you. Even if it’s borrowed bravery, it’s better than nothing.” Krika smirked. “That’s not how our powers work, Toa. We just bring out what’s already there, and you’ve given me more than enough to work with.” “Heh…thanks…for saying so…” Krika turned around to blow away an attacker. By the time he turned back, Jaller had stopped breathing. He stared at the Toa for a moment, and then surveyed the battle, realizing that he had only four Rahkshi remaining. The drones kept coming. Krika chuckled to himself. “So I am a completely worthless Guardian.” He threw back his head and laughed. Several drones began to circle him, but spikes shot out from his body before they could aim their weapons. Krika faced the oncoming horde and slowly walked towards them. Antroz could take no more. She reached out to Krika’s mind, taken aback for a moment by the rage swelling within it. She righted herself quickly, and said, Krika, do not be foolish. You must not give into this anger. “You’re one to talk,” Krika laughed, stirring up another cyclone. There is no strategic advantage to charging them head-on. These are foes that can kill you, and should that happen— “Stop it, Antroz. I can feel you trying to use your Peace powers, but I’m not going to let you sway me.” Krika! This violence is unlike you. A victorious battle is meaningless if you lose yourself in the process—you are a Guardian, a thinker, a builder! You are a Makuta! “I know exactly what I am, Antroz, and I’m not about to betray it,” Krika said. He opened his palms, and they began to shine with blinding white light. “After all…a builder still has the power to destroy.” In the next moment, Antroz could sense nothing else through the rage. Reluctantly, she pulled away, and hung her head. “Hey,” Zaekura said. “Are you going to give me an update or what?” “…It would seem things have taken a dire turn.” She turned and headed down the hallway. Zaekura said, “Not all that helpful. Where are you going?” “They will spot us if we leave via the main door. We’ll make our own exit and slip away while we can.” Zaekura blinked. Taking off after Antroz, she called, “Wait, are you serious? You’re actually going to help me escape?” Antroz nodded. “I…I was wrong. Again, I was wrong. These creatures have no qualms killing the innocent. Any attempts to negotiate would only meet with disaster.” Zaekura tripped. “Someone died?” Antroz didn’t answer. “…Anyway, where are we going? The official evacuation plan is to head to Ga-Koro, but to head there we’d have to cross the warzone.” Antroz came to a wall and set her hand on it. Exerting her Plasma powers, she started to melt the rock away, carving the beginnings of a tunnel that would fit both of them. She didn’t say a word. “…Hello? Makuta? Where are we going?” “There is no truly safe place we can get to, if Ga-Koro is out of the question,” Antroz mused. “There is only one chance…one place we can escape to where we may be able to find temporary safety.” Zaekura rubbed her neck. “Well this is sounding better and better. Can’t wait.” Antroz stopped what she was doing and turned to face her. “Zaekura…I know you do not trust me, but at least believe me when I saw you must tread very lightly where we are going. This is the last place I would want to take you, but if we are careful, we will be safe enough.” Zaekura narrowed her eyes. “…Hm. Might be easier to go along with if I had some more details.” “We will have to manipulate our host—appeal to his ego. He is far from an understanding being, but if you claim to understand him, he will typically give you what you want.” Zaekura barked a short laugh. “Sounds like a real winner.” Antroz sighed, resuming work on the tunnel. “I will admit…I do find him to be a rather disgraceful Makuta.” ADDENDUM: -Told you it wouldn’t be long! -My first thought when picking a look for Melding Krika was something spiky—he’s lined with spikes in his Mistika set, and even the Toa Empire Krika seen in Dark Mirror is said to have many small blades on his armor. Still, I wanted to do something unusual with it if I could, so my solution was for Krika to normally look very sleek, but to fight mainly by instantly growing spikes from his body as he attacks. I’ll probably have him explain the minute details in the near future. -The drones are a Melding equivalent of Vahki, with some small differences. They may appear later and may change in future appearances, but for now, this simplistic interpretation will get the job done. Side note, if you remember Gargoyle Knight it was mentioned that Krekka was named a criminal because he destroyed a drone Velika had made. It was a prototype of this drone. A criticism I received was that said crime had little to do with the rest of Gargoyle Knight, so I thought bringing the drone back in somehow might help tie it together more nicely. -I really, really wish we had proper names for more than just six Rahkshi. I foresee this desire intensifying as we progress. -To paraphrase Prime Antroz, the challenge of writing a Makuta battle is choosing which of their many powers to use. -I wonder if using Jaller as the victim is a bit cheap, but it’s only part three, I haven’t had time to build the emotional tension that this death needed. Borrowing a beloved favorite from the prime universe seemed like my best bet. I’ll try not to do this too much, of course—I don’t want to run out of characters to use! -To be honest, I was going to save that MNOG reference until later, where one of the Great Beings would say it. However, as I was going back over this chapter, I thought using it now might better punctuate this moment for Krika: saying one of our most beloved villainous lines makes him more morally ambiguous, and that ambiguity has always been one of our favorite things about Krika. Plus, it’s just more fitting for that line to be said by a Makuta. Also don’t worry about him, he’s going to survive this fight, I promise. -I can’t guarantee when Section IV will be done, but I’m hoping it won’t be too long—I can’t wait for you to get a look at what the next Makuta can do. I think he’s going to be a lot of fun to write. -Reviews to be submitted here

Glad that distinction between rocks and Earth was made, though that mention of sand does confuse me. Also Kopeke X Tehutti 5ever

I’ve just posted Section II of Right of Law! Check it out! I planned this part to be longer and include a battle at Nynrah, but the draft ended up being 7000 words and that felt like a bit long for one chapter. So, I cut it in two, and now it shouldn’t be much of a wait until Section III is ready to go! But don’t think that this cut makes Section II any less exciting! We start with Krika elaborating on Zaekura’s nature hinted at with the last line of Section I, and it leads to Antroz finally taking a stand against the Great Beings, if not an entirely committed one. There’s also an explanation of who that mysterious Toa of Earth is—they’re a bit more important than you may have first thought. All this building up to an inevitable confrontation next time which will have lasting repercussions for everyone…

Thank you for your support! Section II is out now, where we elaborate on Zaekura's nature and Antroz confronts the Great Beings.

SECTION II Antroz and Krika sat on one side of the table, while Zaekura fidgeted uncomfortably across from them. Antroz was facing her directly, and though she knew she was blind, the Glatorian still couldn’t help but feel she was being stared at. “I still do not understand,” Antroz said quietly. “She is intelligent and inventive—and you think this alone makes her a Great Being?” Krika sighed, taking a moment to shake his head. “Seems I should go back further. You will recall that the Great Beings are from the Glatorian species, correct? They arose from various tribes during the dark ages, realizing they had a gift no others did, and used it to guide the world forward.” “Of course.” “Do you know what it was that caused them to be so different from the other Glatorian?” Antroz thought for a moment, but no answer sprang to mind. “In the interest of time: it started with a genetic quirk. Something in those Glatorian’s DNA altered the structure of their brains in a way no one predicted. Of course, even that doesn’t fully explain it. There must have been some other factor, some catalyst that caused them to develop farther and faster than was wholly natural, but I’ve no idea what that was.” “You are sure about this?” “Absolutely. When this case presented itself to me, I did a little digging. Unfortunately any information on the ‘catalyst’ must in a place one cannot dig into without being caught.” Antroz turned towards him. “It sounds as though you were already someplace you should not have been.” Krika rapped his knuckles against the table. “Now now, let’s focus on the matter at hand, shall we?” Reluctantly, Antroz followed the change in subject. “Then why has this quirk resurfaced in her? Why now, all of the sudden, after so many millennia?” The other Makuta smirked. “Now you’re asking the right questions. The answer is that this isn’t sudden at all. The potential for that quirk still exists in the Glatorian genome, and my working theory is that every generation or so, one or two Glatorian with this mutation will pop up again.” “What? Impossible—we would have known of such a thing.” “Would we? You hadn’t the faintest knowledge of this quirk until I just told you. Yet here you are, trudging out to Nynrah to escort an individual who possesses it to the Maze. We’ve all delivered plenty of prisoners to our leaders over the years. How many times have any of us questioned why?” A sick feeling started to form within Antroz. Hoping to combat it, she said, “That sounds like conjecture. Can anyone corroborate your claim?” Krika gestured to Zaekura. The Glatorian looked away, but after a few moments, she closed her eyes and sighed. “I’m…not the first one in my family to have the mutation,” she muttered. “My grandfather was a brilliant man. He was always working on some invention none of the rest of us could understand, usually saying it would help out someone who was having a problem. And it usually worked, even if we couldn’t understand how. It was like he was just exploding with creativity. Like he had some kind of magic.” She glared at Krika. “But one day, he was taken away. I never saw him again.” Krika nodded. “I was told to discourage anyone who asked questions about that Glatorian. Of course, I myself didn’t feel particularly discouraged by that.” “Should go without saying, my family’s become a bit skeptical of the Makuta and the Great Beings. I’ve been trying to lay low…but I guess someone still found me out.” “It wasn’t me,” Krika said, raising his hands. “The Great Beings don’t want to hear from me these days.” “So,” Antroz interrupted, “you claim that this mutation was the reason your grandfather was taken away? And that it then skipped a generation to appear again in you?” Zaekura looked down again. “Something like that, I guess.” “I have copies of the records I…perused,” Krika offered. “I’d be happy to share them with you.” After a short pause, Antroz said, “Krika…if what you are saying is true, then what do you theorize becomes of the mutant Glatorian taken to the Maze?” Krika got a grim look. “Again, it would be impossible to dig that up without getting caught. But I think it’s worth noting that even though they had the potential to become Great Beings, our leaders’ ranks have never grown.” Zaekura wrung her hands. Antroz could sense her fear, her anxiety…and the fact that she wasn’t lying. But, this could merely be her perception. This is not conclusive proof that the Great Beings…that we have led innocent Glatorian to… Antroz stood. “Krika. I must speak with the Great Beings.” Zaekura flinched. Krika rose slowly, saying, “I, uh, would advise against that, Antroz. Even supposing they’re honest with us, they’re not going to like us questioning our orders.” “If what you say is true, then we cannot simply hand her over.” “Of course not. I was never going to. But if we confront the Great Beings, we lose any opportunity for her to sneak away.” “But if you are wrong, Krika, and there is some other reason the Great Beings have condemned this girl, then we cannot allow her to escape. I must know.” “Seriously?!” Zaekura said, leaping to her feet. “What is it going to take to convince you? They just want you to bring me in so they can kill me! There’s no way I’m…going to…” Suddenly, Zaekura sank back into her chair and slumped against the table. Antroz released her Sleep power and turned back to Krika. The Makuta of Nynrah stared at her for a moment before shrugging. “I know that there’s no easy way for me to stop you, and that even if I did put in the effort it wouldn’t really achieve much,” Krika said. “The communications chamber is on the level below this one. Third door to the left of the stairwell.” As Antroz walked out, Krika added, “I’ll be listening, of course. And you should know that no matter what you end up deciding, I have no intentions of letting you take her.” Antroz stopped. “I’ve never known you to be all that protective.” “She’s a citizen of Nynrah. I’m not a completely worthless Guardian.” Antroz offered a nod, and then left the room. The chamber Krika had indicated was a small box lined with numerous control panels, and one wall was taken up by an enormous screen. Antroz reached for one of the panels, typed into the keyboard, and then patiently waited until the screen flared to life. A Glatorian clad in purple armor was there to greet her. “Ah, Antroz! Wonderful to hear from you—and I see you’ve safely made it to Nynrah! Good, good.” Antroz bowed. “Lord Angonce. Pardon the intrusion, but it is urgent that I speak with you.” Angonce raised an eyebrow. “Oh, is that so? Well, alright, what is it that you want to talk about?” The Makuta hesitated, but eventually, she said, “I have met the prisoner. Krika has explained her crime to me—at least, his understanding of it.” “Ah. And Krika’s understanding is…?” “He claims that she possesses a mutation seen very rarely in Glatorian. A mutation that would allow her to become like you, Lord Angonce.” Angonce nodded slowly. “I see.” “He believes that, over the years, we may have delivered many such Glatorian to you without even knowing it. I must say, my Lord…that possibility frightens me terribly.” “Really? Why’s that?” Antroz clenched her fists. “If I have captured someone for committing no crime…if any have been condemned simply because of the way they were born, then I would be deeply ashamed to be a part of it. I am sorry, Lord Angonce, but…please, tell me. Is Krika right?” Angonce stared at her for a very long time. At last, he sighed, leaned back in his chair, and, just as casually as ever, said, “Antroz, I really don’t see what the problem is.” It felt to Antroz as if her armor had gone hollow. “W…what?” “You have your orders, so follow them. You’ve always been really great about that, I’m not sure why you’re messing up all of a sudden.” Taking a step forward, Antroz said, “Lord Angonce, are you really telling me to bring this girl to be killed?! Simply for one strand of DNA? How can such a thing be right?!” “Because we’ve ordered it,” Angonce said, spreading his arms and looking upward. “Antroz, we’re the Great Beings. Our word is law—we’re the ones who decide what right and wrong is. So if we say something is right, then, I mean, it is. It’s not that complicated, really.” Antroz gaped. Her thoughts were racing, but they felt a million miles away, separated from her by a river of shock and horror. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you, Antroz,” Angonce said. “Look, just bring the girl to the Maze, alright? We can’t have someone like her running loose.” Angonce reached for the button to end the call. “…This…is not right…” The Great Being leaned forward. “Hm? What was that?” She waded through the river, letting her emotions wash over her, filling her to the brim until she overflowed. Facing the screen, Antroz said, “This is not right, Lord Angonce. This girl has done nothing wrong, and I will not have innocent blood on my hands.” Now it was Angonce’s turn to be shocked. He watched Antroz with wide eyes, speechless for perhaps the first time. “Just because she has the potential to rival you does not give you the right to execute her. So I am sorry, Lord Angonce, but I must refuse the orders you have given me. Zaekura will remain in Nynrah.” The silence stretched on and on. It seemed like an eternity before Angonce sighed, his expression drooping into one of frustration and disappointment. “Then we’ll have to come to her, I suppose,” he muttered. “For shame, Antroz. I really expected better of you.” The communication was terminated. Antroz turned on her heel and stalked back out into the hall. “Some comments,” Krika said, appearing as she rounded a corner. “Lovely conscience, was hoping that would make an appearance. Not sure you’ll take this as a compliment, but I was really very impressed to see you, of all people, standing up to the Great Beings. But, there is one major criticism I have. You see…” He grabbed Antroz by the shoulder. Using his Elasticity powers, he extended his arm rapidly, slamming her into the far wall and pinning her there. His eyes narrowed until they were almost shut. “You just brought the wrath of the Great Beings down upon my city. You’ll understand if I’m a small bit livid, yes?” Antroz batted his hand away. Despite the assault, her fury was actually beginning to abate. “…I acted impulsively, I admit.” “Impulsively, yes, of course,” Krika said, retracting his arm. “Impulsivity is exactly what we need right now. Why tread carefully when trying to have a polite disagreement with those capable of bending the fabric of reality itself?” Antroz said nothing. “…Well, there’s no way to undo it now. I suppose we’ll just have to fight back when the time comes.” “I have no intention of fighting,” Antroz said calmly. Krika scratched his head. “…Did I say ‘a small bit’? I think my initial estimate was off.” “We cannot fight the Great Beings, Krika. All we can do is hope to reason with them.” “Reason? You think they’ll be willing to listen to reason, after all that? My word, Antroz, you really are deluded.” Antroz walked towards him. “The Great Beings have made a mistake. But, I still believe their intentions are good. I will not turn Zaekura over, but I will not turn against the Great Beings either.” “They’re mutually exclusive!” Krika screamed. The entire hallway shuddered. He took a moment to regain his composure before continuing, “More importantly, you just put all the citizens of Nynrah in danger. And you aren’t going to lift a finger to defend them?” “We have no reason to think the Great Beings will use lethal force.” “And is that what you thought when Gorast killed Krekka?” Antroz turned and continued down the hall. “…So what do you propose we do?” Krika asked. “We wait,” Antroz said. “When the Great Beings arrive, we will speak with them, and hopefully come to an understanding. I imagine we will need to keep Zaekura here until then, but she should be returned home shortly.” Krika laughed. “Well, you try telling her that. If it’s all the same to you, I’m going to round up some forces to protect my citizens as they evacuate.” When Antroz returned to where Zaekura was, she sat and waited for the Glatorian to awaken. The moment she did, she jumped backward, knocking over her chair. “What was that?” she asked, rubbing her head. “I apologize, Zaekura. It seems you were right all along.” Zaekura grimaced. “Please tell me you didn’t talk to them.” “I did.” “Oh for the love of…that’s just great. When do I die?” “You aren’t going to die, Zaekura. I will not be turning you over to the Great Beings. When they arrive, I will—“ “They’re coming here?!” Zaekura interrupted. “Oh no no no no no, this is bad, this is really, really bad.” She began to pace. Holding out a hand, Antroz said, “Please, settle down.” “Put that away!” Zaekura shouted, pointing at Antroz’s hand. “I don’t want you throwing any more of those rotten powers at me!” With a sigh, Antroz lowered her hand. “Listen to me, Zaekura: I will do everything within my power to sway the Great Beings, and I am convinced that they will come to understand our point of view. You have nothing to fear.” Zaekura put both hands over her mouth. She stared at Antroz for a minute, and then turned around and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Is this real?” she wondered aloud. “I mean, you go from stage one, perfectly willing to take me to be killed, to stage two, thinking that maybe that’s a tiny bit rash, to stage three, ‘trust me to protect you’. Can you understand why I might have trouble buying that?” Antroz paused. “I have acknowledged my mistake, and I wish to take steps to fix it. Is this not enough to prove myself?” Zaekura stared at Antroz again. “You…you’re not kidding, are you? What is that, is that ego, or do you just not have social skills?” The Glatorian leaned against the wall and slowly slid down to the floor. Antroz sat still for a moment, and then rose and took a few steps forward. Zaekura tensed up immediately. “If I have to earn your trust, then so be it,” Antroz said. “But for the time being, I think it best you remain here, so that Krika and I can keep you safe.” Rolling her eyes, Zaekura said, “Well if the alternative is being out in the open while the Great Beings are on a hunting trip, I guess that actually is the better option.” Antroz nodded. “Thank you. I will go see Krika, then. Please be here when we return.” Zaekura didn’t say anything as she ran her hands over her face. When Antroz made it outside, she found Krika standing not far away talking to a small group of his citizens, while various types of Rahkshi could be seen approaching their location from every direction. She got just close enough to be able to listen. “I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you,” Krika was saying. “I know that’s a miserable excuse, but if you knew exactly what was coming for us, it could ruin your chances to escape it. Please, just do as I ask. And if anyone asks you why you fled Nynrah, say that it was because I forced you out.” A very concerned-looking Agori stepped forward. “But, Makuta Krika, this is our home! Shouldn’t we stay to defend it?” With a sad smile, Krika reached out and set his hand on the Agori’s head. “I’m sorry, Kirbold…but there’s no defense against what’s coming. Anyone who stays behind to fight it would only get killed.” A Matoran asked, “But then, what about you?” “Don’t worry about me. Just get to Ga-Koro as quickly as you can, and I’ll meet up with you soon.” Hesitantly, the citizens departed. Krika eyed the Rahkshi as they lined up, and his gaze eventually reached Antroz. “I find this all rather unnecessary,” Antroz said. “You would,” Krika sneered. Antroz walked closer, continuing, “It sounds as though you agree with me, that fighting the Great Beings is impossible. I do not understand why you think escaping them will work any better.” Krika counted the Rahkshi in front of him. “All accounted for. Though, suddenly this feels like a much smaller number. Anyway, Antroz, I’ve deceived them before, so please butt out and allow me to work.” He got a few steps before Antroz said, “I beg your pardon? What are you referring to?” Krika stopped in his tracks. Looking towards the ocean, he muttered, “I’m not sure I should trust you with this, but…” The Toa of Earth from before was still there, sitting on the same rock. They looked over their shoulder again, and this time Krika beckoned to them; with quite a bit of reluctance, they complied. “Ga-Koro, then?” the Toa asked, their voice slow and quiet. “I think I’ll take my chances in the depths.” “That’s quite alright, Mavrah, but please help me prove a point first,” Krika said. “Antroz, about those experiments we hunted down?” Not having the faintest idea where he was going, Antroz said, “Yes…?” “Oh,” Mavrah said, “are we doing this now?” “Do you mind?” Krika asked. “I suppose not. I hope she doesn’t damage my lure, though.” “Krika,” Antroz said, “please, elaborate.” “It’s really quite simple, Antroz,” Krika said. “While you slaughtered indiscriminately, I decided to push my luck just a bit. I let one of our targets live—a small feat, to be sure, but I thought it the only realistic approach. I wanted to see if they were really as dangerous as we were told, if it was completely impossible for them to be tamed. If I was wrong, then I could just kill it anyway, and if I was right then I knew how guilty I needed to feel.” Antroz’s jaw dropped. “You let one of those things loose?!” “Not loose, no. I brought it back here. And over these millennia I’ve cared for it, taught it not to endanger any of my citizens, and of course, kept it a secret from every other living being until now. It was really an ingenious concept the Great Beings were pursuing—Mavrah, if you would be so kind?” The Toa of Earth nodded, and then they were gone. In the blink of an eye their body vanished, and in its place, a roughly-spherical device twice as large as Antroz’s fist floated, bobbing slowly but maintaining a height of a about a foot off the ground. Antroz stepped back in surprise. “It’s sort of like an anglerfish. Except the lure can be operated remotely over a distance of several miles, controlled via a telepathic link to the main body; it can project a hologram of whatever the creature envisions, whatever they think is most likely to draw in their prey. Of course, I may have tinkered with it a bit over the years—I thought making the hologram solid would allow Mavrah to take a more active role in the community.” The “Toa” reappeared. Antroz heard a bellow in the distance, and sensed something breaking the surface of the ocean: a massive, hideous creature the likes of which she’d never sensed before. It submerged just as quickly as it had appeared. “I’ve learned a lot in my time,” Mavrah said. “Speech was probably the trickiest, but I think I’ve become rather good at it. I should probably mention that I never really had any desire to harm the citizens, and I’ve actually grown quite fond of them. It’s saddening to see them leave. When will they be back, Krika?” Krika shook his head. “I don’t know, Mavrah. It might be some time before you hear from me.” “Oh, that’s a pity. But I don’t think even Ga-Koro would welcome someone like me.” Antroz stood perfectly still as she tried to process this information. Krika dismissed Mavrah, and then said, “Turns out there was another way. I’ve been feeling quite guilty for some time now.” He took a few more steps before Antroz called, “Krika.” “Hm?” “What exactly is your plan?” “Cover the citizens as they escape, by any means necessary. Once they’re safely on their way to Ga-Koro, I aim to fake my death and let the story spread that I went mad out of the blue, and the Great Beings had no choice but to put me down. They’ll like that. It lets them stay the heroes.” “And Zaekura?” “Get her to the most secluded spot I can find, and keep her out of the Great Beings sight just like I’ve been doing with Mavrah. It won’t be a great life, but at least she’ll be alive. It’s the best I can do on such short notice.” Antroz walked forward, saying, “If this course of action is so unappealing, then why have you already committed to it? We may yet be able to salvage this situation!” They both heard it at the same time. It was far away still, but footsteps were undeniably getting closer to Nynrah, and they were not the steps of a Great Being. They were the steps of many marching in unison, an entire battalion that moved with an eerily methodical focus. “Blast it,” Krika said. “I figured they had something nearby as insurance, but I thought I had a least a little more time!” Antroz broadened the range of her telepathy, sending her mind out over the approaching mass. While there was definitely something on the move, whatever they were, they did not possess minds of their own, so she gleaned very little. All that was truly clear was that they greatly outnumbered Krika’s Rahkshi. “How bad is it?” Krika asked. Antroz hesitated. “They are soulless, and there are enough to storm this entire city…supposing that is their goal.” “I think I’ll make that supposition,” Krika grumbled. “Let’s see now, I should be able to spare enough power to spawn another handful of Rahkshi…Antroz, if you’re not going to fight, then I recommend you leave this place.” “I have no reason to flee. I shall continue to watch Zaekura until the Great Beings arrive.” Krika gritted his teeth. “Fine. But when your delusions end and you realize what’s actually happening…get her out of here. In case I don’t get the chance myself.” Antroz turned in the direction of the army. “If that were to happen, where would you have me take her?” “Hard to say. Taking her to Ga-Koro would endanger the rest of my citizens, but there aren’t any other settlements within reasonable walking distance. I’ll leave that up to you.” Antroz nodded, and then she headed back towards the cliff. She paused when she noticed Mavrah nearby, though the illusory Toa quickly vanished, and the remote lure descended into the ocean. …I must believe that the Great Beings are reasonable. We must not resort to senseless violence. ADDENDUM: -Originally I planned for this Section to include more, but the complete rough draft ended up being 7000 words and I felt that was a bit too long. This seemed like the best point to divide them up, and it might actually improve the pacing a bit. Best of all, this means Section III should be up very soon! -I know that the Great Beings being Glatorian is a contentious bit of trivia, but I thought it held the potential to be an interesting plot, so I decided to go ahead with it. If you remember the serials you might know what the ‘catalyst’ was, but if not don’t worry: the complete picture will be explained soon enough. -The later serials were setting Angonce up to be the Great Being our heroes could turn to, saying that he was always curious about the other species and showing him express concern over the release of Marendar. For this iteration, I thought that would translate to a “man of the people” image, though with the small twist that, in curiously observing these species, he’s looking down on them. He considers them pets at best. These people fascinate him, sure, but it’s not like they actually matter in his eyes—he could replace them in an afternoon. And if he’s the nicest Great Being… -I felt a more gradual shift in Antroz’s view of the Great Beings would be more realistic. It’s hard to learn that there are huge flaws in something you’ve believed or followed your entire life—that you’ve been complicit in terrible things without realizing it, or that you’ve held a viewpoint that’s actually pretty awful when you take a different look at it. Antroz doesn’t want to admit that to herself. So for now, she’s going to hold out hope that she can still reason with the Great Beings, and that everything will go back to normal. Cognitive dissonance is a beautiful thing, isn’t it? -Kirbold was chosen more or less at random. Not many Agori stand out in my mind, and none of them seem like they would have much inclination towards Nynrah’s idea of art. This kind of decision-making will probably come up again. -Ga-Koro was one of the few places in the Melding Universe actually visited in Brothers in Arms, though not many details were given about it. Since I had already said Nynrah was along the coast of Aqua Magna and Ga-Koro must be in a similar location, it made sense that they’d be near each other and would make a good default evacuation route, which led me to craft a more specific purpose for the city as a sort of sanctuary. More details on that should come in a few chapters. And, yes, it has a Makuta, though I won’t spoil who. -If I recall my thought process correctly, I wanted there to be some early event that sparked Krika’s distrust of the Great Beings, and thinking about what could have happened so long ago reminded me of the ancient aquatic Rahi from Voyage of Fear. The anglerfish is one of the weirder real-life creatures I know about, and I thought the projection lure would be a neat idea—at that point it was obvious said lure would be named Mavrah. Also I just realized that I messed up in Section I: the Toa of Earth is referred to as “he”, but Mavrah actually uses “they” pronouns. I’m going to edit that, and I’ll be more consistent going forward. -Like I was saying earlier, Section II was originally going to include the upcoming battle, but it looks like the nature of this army is going to remain a mystery for now. Antroz’s telepathy doesn’t work very well on non-living things when they’re very far away. You may be surprised to see what’s coming, though it’s not impossible to guess either. (Gosh I’ve missed making pointless, cryptic remarks.) I do want to finish work on something else before I finish editing Section III, but I’m going to be optimistic and say it won’t be all that long. Stay tuned! -Reviews to be submitted here

Good game, all

I'll vote Toru as well

Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, Bahrag. This continues to be marvelous!

"Is it possible to learn this power...?"

Pahrak (Me?): "TRUE LOVE'S KISS SHALL SAVE YOU FROM MIDAS'S CURSE!"

I feel like I need to use this blog more than I have recently, so here are various story ideas I have right now. -Should probably first take a moment to remind myself which ones I’ve actually started. Right of Law is the only Bionicle story I’m working on right now, and I’ve got big plans for it—I got way more into thinking about the Melding Universe than I ever thought I would and I don’t want any of that going to waste. Section II is coming along rather nicely, I think. -Other than that, I’m working on Shooting Star Sonia 3…which I’m still rather behind on. Got to get back in the groove there. Probably shouldn’t have posted the first seven chapters at once like that. -And, other than that, I am working on a Mega Man ZX fanfic, but I haven’t posted it here since I think one spot in my Recent Works block dedicated to OTC should probably be enough. (If that interests anyone you can find Mega Man ZX Termination over on FanFiction.) -So, what have I thought of but not actually started? Well, there’s, uh…ahah, oh yeah. Olkir. That, uh, that sure was set to be a thing. That never happened. Gosh I hope I do something with that someday. I want to focus all my Bionicle effort on Right of Law at the moment, though. -There’s also a G2 idea I had, Ends of the Earth, where Earth Okotans Onepu and Tehutti get caught up in a storm and end up on the island of Onan, which has some curious similarities to their home while still being very different. Fascinating as it is, the dedicated Onepu is eager to return home, but Tehutti, being a fugitive, is looking for ways to not do that. I like the idea, just not sure when I’ll get around to it. -I had a couple other vague possibilities for Mega Man stories, like a third entry in the data timeline, or a completely new timeline, or Maverick Hunter X Hunter which is exactly what it sounds like for the sole reason that the name just works too darn well to let it go to waste. I hope someone writes that. -I would really like to do something The World Ends With You related. I still love that game to bits, I missed the 10 year anniversary of the Japanese release last year, I’d like to catch the anniversary of the American release this year, and especially with Final Remix coming out…I want to do something. But I’m not too sure on the what. I was kicking around the possibility of a short reflective thing, probably titled “The World Still Hasn’t Ended”, but…it’d probably be short or get repetitive, and wouldn’t really be all that interesting. I thought of seeing where the characters might be after the game, but actually, I’m not sure I can do that as well as I would like to. Hmmmm. Maybe I should just wait until after I play Final Remix. -I’d also like to do something with Final Fantasy V. Also having a tough time figuring out where these characters would end up, though there’s the possibility of a new group of warriors facing a new threat. I also kind of like the idea of a series of oneshots featuring past heroes, the ones whose memories/souls/whatever enter the crystals and become the Jobs, but there are so many it would run the risk of getting really stale really fast. And, uh…for some reason or another…it did cross my mind to explore an FFV high school AU. Yes, stupid idea, but come on! Those dorks would fit into a series like that perfectly! Class rep Lenna, drama club member Bartz, delinquent Faris, Galuf as the teacher and his granddaughter Krile being the transfer student, it could be great! Or not. I don’t know, I just thought it was fun to think about. -I considered doing a Pokémon story, set in a new region. I still really like the idea of Alola’s four guardians, so I thought of doing a system kind of like that: trainers travel to four areas within the region, pass a test to enter the guardian’s temple, and then battle the guardian as a bigger trial. I thought that upon winning, the trainer would select one of their Pokémon to receive power from the guardian, enabling them to use the power of Mega Ascension (tentative). This allows the Pokémon to transform into a state where their abilities are augmented and they also possess the abilities of the guardian. Since I don’t want to design too many Pokémon, though, I was thinking there would only be a handful of new ones and a bunch from other generations…and maybe some regional variants, because I dig those. -One idea I had was a story about a randomized Pokémon Platinum game, with some plot changes for fun. Its name…Pokémon Insinnohty. Because that’s how I roll. I randomized a few Pokémon already just to see what I’d have to work with, and some of this is looking pretty interesting, like Turtwig becoming a Dragon/Psychic Seedot with Ice Body, and Togekiss becoming a Ghost/Flying Gallade with Zen Mode. It’s a definite possibility. -One other Pokémon idea…I feel like concept of Team Rainbow Rocket still has some unused potential, so it might be worth it to do my own take on that. Have the bosses all actually be working together, rather than just showing up in the same place for a few minutes—each could rule over their own ideal world while collaborating with the others to take over more worlds or trade resources or fight Ultra Beasts. And certainly other characters would be involved. Lillie and Gladion were quick picks, but I also realized this could be a great opportunity to write about Silver, which I’m kind of surprised I haven’t done before now. The only idea I had for a title so far was “Over the Rainbow”, but if I actually do this I might try to think of something else. -And there is that original idea I’m still working on…though mainly just in the form of brainstorming. I posted a story in OTC to test out some concepts a while ago (Glimpse of Horizons), but the idea has morphed considerably since then, and I might actually try to turn it into a novel. (I’m also thinking “Valkyrie Errant” as the new title.) We’ll see where this goes, but I really, really want it to go somewhere. Maybe I'll post something about that sometime soon.

Chapter 11 is now up! It's a little short, but resolves something that's been going on for a while now, and sets up for the boss fight next chapter.

Chapter 11 “Finally,” Geo said. “It’s been forever since I got to visit a beach!” As the group made their way towards the water, Zack said, “I’m surprised there aren’t more people here. Unless, maybe they’re nervous after the incident with the Wizards?” “I wonder,” Pat said, raising a hand to shield his eyes. “That’s too bad—it really is beautiful out today!” Jack wiped his brow. “It’s too hot.” “That’s why I told you not to bring that dark coat,” Luna said. “Honestly, do you not own any other clothes?” “Give it a rest,” Jack grumbled. “I just didn’t think it was going to be this bad.” “You’ll cool down fast once you get in the water,” Geo said. “Uh, I don’t know about that…” Zack looked up. “Huh? Why come to the beach if you aren’t going to get in the water? I mean, I don’t plan on going far, but still…” Jack scratched his head. “I’m just…not really interested, is all.” Stopping where she stood, Luna turned and faced him. “You can swim, can’t you?” Jack’s eyes widened. “Unbelievable! It looks like we’re going to have to teach you.” “H-Hey, don’t assume anything! I can swim!” “Don’t feel bad, Jack,” Pat said. “It was a while before I learned to swim. You pick it up in no time!” “I can swim! Can’t you hear?” “I guess there’s only one way to know for sure,” Geo said. “Why don’t we have a race and see?” Shaking his fist, Jack said, “Fine, if that’s what it’s gonna take! I’ll swim circles around all of you!” “Um, I think I’ll sit this one out,” Zack muttered. “Too late now, Zack,” Pat said. “Time to see what you’re really made of!” Zack grimaced. “I already know what I’m made of, and it isn’t really seaworthy…” As they picked up the pace, Luna turned to look back at Bud. “Aren’t you coming?” Bud waved and said, “Actually, I’m expecting a call from Amy. I’ll catch up!” Luna nodded and went after the others. Bud loitered near the greenery lining the docks, but it wasn’t long before his Hunter started to ring. “Amy!” he shouted as the screen appeared. “Hi Bud!” she replied. “Looks like you made it to Alohaha in one piece, huh?” “Yep!” He turned so that Amy could see the shoreline. “Take a look! Isn’t it great?” “It does look nice! Though, I’m pretty sure I would melt if I went down there, haha! So did you just get in, or have you done a lot already?” “We haven’t been here long, though I did tour some shops already. You wouldn’t believe the food they’ve got down here!” “Ooh, tell me!” “First I was sure to grab some of the local barbeque. Boy am I glad I didn’t wait until tonight: it was some of the most delicious meat I’ve ever tasted! They use some kind of seasoning I guess you can only get in this region, and it was cooked just right, and covered in this sauce that’s out of this world!” “Ah, that sounds awesome!” “Then I tried this thing, it was like, a ball of fried dough, coated in sugar. I was surprised by how good that was!” “No kidding!” “But the best thing I had was this special seafood skewer! I’m not 100% sure what all was on it, but the way it was prepared and how all the different tastes blended together, it was just…aw, I think I’m getting hungry again…” “Man, maybe I should try to get down there some time…” She paused and shook her head. “Well, I’m glad to hear you’re having a good time! And there hasn’t been any trouble?” Bud looked up. “Uh…there was an outbreak of Noised Wizards when we showed up, but it’s taken care of now.” “Oh, okay. I guess they didn’t stand a chance against the one and only Taurus Fire, eh?” “I, er, didn’t get to fight them, actually. We decided it would be suspicious if we all snuck away from the class, so only one of us went, and…it was Geo.” “Oh.” A long, quiet moment passed. “But, uh, no other trouble,” Bud said, “and I’m ready to strike back if anything else does happen!” He laughed a bit, but when he was done, Amy leaned forward and asked, “Hey Bud…what’s wrong?” “Huh? W-What do you mean?” “Whenever you talk about Geo lately, you get kind of…awkward. Is there something going on between you two?” “What? No, of course not! Geo and I are Brothers—no way anything could come between us!” Amy crossed her arms and squinted. “…I mean…” A grunt came from Bud’s Hunter. “Bud, you should tell her.” “Is that Taurus?” Amy asked. “Tell me what?” “It’s nothing!” Bud insisted. “There’s nothing to tell, really. I’m really happy for Geo! He’s come a real long way in such a short time, and he’s way more confident now, and he’s become super valuable to the team! He’s my Brother, so of course I’m happy for him, even if…” He looked at the ground. Amy waited. “…even if…part of me, might be kinda…jealous.” He sighed. “I dunno. It’s like, we trained together, you know? And he got way more out of it than I did. I’ve been trying so hard for so long, and in months he was able to pull ahead. Heck, even before he really got serious, he was kind of more useful in big fights than I was, when I think about it.” “Bud,” Amy said, her expression softening considerably. “You can’t judge yourself based just on how useful you are in a fight.” “I know,” Bud said, nodding. “I know, really. But it’s still frustrating. I really am happy for Geo, but it still hurts to see just how much better than me he is at this. Like…he’s just got talent for it that I don’t have. Makes me feel like all the work I’ve been putting in doesn’t really amount to much in the end.” Amy took a moment to absorb what he was saying. “I can kind of relate. Whenever someone beats me in skiing, I honestly feel happy for them, but I always want to kick myself for not doing better. Still, though, I don’t ever feel like the work I’ve put in was a waste. I enjoy seeing myself improve, even if it isn’t at the same rate as someone else. I might not be as good as I could be, but I’m still better than I was, and I feel like that has to count for something. You know?” “…I guess.” “Bud…I want you to know that I don’t think you’ve wasted any time. Because of the work you’ve done, you’ve been able to help plenty of people—including me. So I think it definitely counts for something.” She grinned. “Then again, I might be a little biased.” Bud chuckled. “Thanks, Amy. I’ll try to remember that.” “Good. Now go enjoy your vacation! And see if you can smuggle some of that food back with you, I’m not going to be able to get it out of my head until I can try it myself!” “I’ll see what I can do!” Bud said, giving a thumbs-up. “Talk to you later!” “Bye-bye!” The call ended. Taking a deep breath, Bud turned and looked out at the ocean. “What did I tell you, Bud?” Taurus asked. “Yeah, I know, I should’ve talked to someone about it sooner.” “Mrrgh! That’s right! Now with that out of the way, it’s time to find our path forward! I won’t give up if you won’t.” Bud nodded. “Right. I can’t give up yet. Thanks for everything, Taurus.” *** Sonia sat on the Wave Road above the beach, keeping a lookout for anything out of the ordinary. Night had fallen, and the Echo Ridge students were gathered around a fire pit below, chatting excitedly as they ate. “Messages from Claud and Kidd,” Lyra said. “They’ve yet to find anything suspicious in their areas.” Sonia crossed her arms. “Hmmmm. We haven’t seen a single trace of Dealer since the incident earlier, but that almost makes me more nervous.” “I think you should relax a bit, dear. Everyone’s safe at the moment. See for yourself.” Sonia looked down at the class, picking her friends out of the crowd. Bud was tearing through a plate of meat, and nearby, Jack was eating with nearly equal enthusiasm. Zack cheered them on, but Geo and Pat hung back, eating their food at a healthier pace. And Luna… For some reason, Luna was at the edge of the group, gripping her Hunter and breathing deeply as if she were preparing for something. Sonia tapped her fingers against her arm. ...I might not have it all figured out, but…I can’t stand putting this off anymore. She reached for her guitar screen, but it beeped before she could do anything. Taking a look, she saw an alert that she had a new message from Luna. She looked back—Luna was walking away from the group now, towards a secluded dock further up the shore. Confused, Sonia quickly checked the message. “Where are you right now?” Sonia typed in her reply: “Just above you. What’s up?” Luna’s reply was fast. “I want to see you. No one should bother us out on the dock. Please?” Sonia hesitated for a moment, but then she pushed it aside and steeled herself. “Sure, I’ll be right there.” She made her way down, not undoing her Wave Change until she was right at the dock. Her steps slowed a bit, but she didn’t stop. Luna stood at the edge of the dock looking at the water—there were only a few lanterns lining the platform, but the moon provided more than enough light to make her out in the darkness. She turned as Sonia drew closer. “Hi,” she said quietly. “Hi.” Sonia came up next to her. They both sat down facing the water, letting their feet hang over the edge. For a time, they just sat there, neither saying a word, until eventually Luna took a very deep breath. “I-I-I th-think we…” She cut herself off, cleared her throat, and started again. “I think we have some stuff we…need to talk about.” Sonia nodded slowly. “Yeah. I was thinking that too.” Luna bit her lip. Turning, she said, “Sonia…I know I’ve been coming off as sort of cold for a while now. I’m really sorry about that.” Sonia turned. “What? No, I wouldn’t say you’ve been cold! Just…I just thought you needed a bit more time, that’s all.” “Either way, I can tell it’s been bothering you.” Sonia looked down. “I haven’t been acting like this because I want to,” Luna said, wringing her hands. “There’s…this fear inside me that keeps getting in the way. It’s overwhelming, and I try to ignore it, but I just keep running away to escape it. But…I guess it ends up looking like I’m running away from you. So I’m sorry.” “I’m sorry too,” Sonia said. “I can see that you’re struggling with this, but…I keep trying to push things forward.” Luna shifted. “Y…yeah. You have seemed pretty eager.” “I know I shouldn’t push so hard, but I…it’s like I’ve got this compulsive need, and I can’t hold back, and…” She shook her head. “No, whatever it is, it’s wrong. If I keep acting so selfishly, then it’s no wonder I scare you. I’m sorry, Luna.” Luna seemed to relax a little. She reached out with one hand, brushing it against Sonia’s; Sonia turned her hand over and let Luna take it. “I’ll accept your apology if you accept mine,” she said. Sonia looked up. “Are…are you really sure? I mean, I’d understand if—“ Luna tugged on her hand, cutting her off. “I don’t want to just quit. We’ve both made mistakes, but…I know we can get past this. That we still have a future, as long as we’re both willing to keep working for it.” Sonia stared at her. “Do you…feel the same?” “Y-Yes, of course!” Sonia said, nodding. “Of course, Luna, I…” She paused, chuckling a little. “You really are incredible. I promise I’ll try harder to make this work.” “Good,” Luna said. “And I promise to do the same thing.” “Great.” “First things first,” Luna said. “From now on, whenever we’re worried about anything, let’s be sure to talk about it right away. This has been exhausting.” Sonia smiled. “Definitely. I’ll try not to wait so long next time.” “Neither will I.” They both looked ahead, watching the waves come in. “What’s next…really is kind of scary,” Luna said. “If you’re not ready, then I’ll wait. And I’ll do a better job of it. The last thing I want to do is make you uncomfortable, Luna.” She thought for a moment. “Thank you. But, the only real reason I have to stay here is that I’m afraid. I’ve had enough of doing what fear wants. So, even if it is scary…what I want is…” Sonia turned to look at her. Even in the dark, she could tell the other girl was blushing. “Sonia,” Luna started. “I want to stop letting things get between us. I want to be totally open with you, because…because I know I can trust you with everything that I am. Y-You should already know the reasons why, so…I’m just going to say it, okay?” Luna turned to look Sonia in the eye. Sonia felt her heart pound. “Sonia…I love you.” Hearing those words, Sonia was overcome with joy. She could feel it surge through her body, bringing a smile to her face and tears to her eyes. Clasping both her hands around Luna’s, she said, “I love you too, Luna.” Luna grinned, her eyes starting to water as well. They both giggled and took a moment to dry their eyes, and then, after a short pause, Luna started to lean towards Sonia. Sonia moved as well, careful to be sure she wasn’t going too fast. The anticipation turned seconds into hours, but when they finally kissed, both were sure that the wait had been entirely worth it. “Wow,” Luna breathed. Sonia giggled. She slid closer to Luna, weaving her arm together with hers, and gently rested her head on her shoulder. Luna rested her head against hers. “I might still struggle a bit,” Luna said. “I’m sure I will too,” Sonia said. “Hm. I guess it’s alright, then. No, I’m sure it will be.” Sonia closed her eyes. For a moment, it was like everything else faded away, and the entire world was just the dock where she and Luna sat together. The pain she’d felt for so long was gone, and in its place was a sense of closeness and affection greater than anything she’d ever felt before. It was the peace she had been looking for. She loves me. She actually, really loves me. It feels so good to be loved again. *** The halls of Alohaha Castle were lit only by the glow that came from its exhibits, the only sound being an occasional beeping coming from the environmental system. Standing before the console were two figures, one tall and engrossed in a screen projected from her terminal, the other short and glaring at the wall. The tall one turned, breaking the silence with, “The preparations are complete. Once Strong exits hibernation, we shall act.” Her companion grunted. “…There will be no turning back.” He looked up. “What? I know that.” “You do not fully realize.” She flashed a Noise Card. “The coding on this card is incredibly complex. We cannot reduce this one to a feral beast, but we cannot leave his base personality intact, therefore we will need to completely rewrite who this Wizard is to make him capable of wreaking havoc.” “I know, sis, King went over it.” “And now that he has installed a Noise Filter, we have needed to enhance the corruptive power by a factor of 300%. As a result of all this, the programming nearly exceeds the data limit of this card…meaning there is no room left for the memory hack.” He said nothing. “Let me be clear, Jack. When Harp Note defeats Club Strong and reverts him to normal, he will remember seeing us. Our undercover assignment will be over for good.” Jack scoffed. “About time! I’m sick of these losers—I’m more than ready to show our power and start kicking them around!” Tia stared at her brother. “…What? You think I’m going to chicken out or something?! I’m not going to give up when we’re so close to getting our wish! Let ‘em know we’re from Dealer!” He turned and shoved his hands into his pockets. “I…I don’t care.” Tia waited a few more moments, and then turned back to her screen. Neither said another word until the environmental system started to hum. With a flash, Strong emerged from the system, and he immediately took note of his visitors. “What are you doing here?” he asked. “The castle is closed. I’m afraid I must ask you to leave the premises.” “We will,” Tia said. “This shouldn’t take long.” Taking one last glance at Jack, she hurled the card at Strong. She waited patiently until the Wizard’s screams of agony died down before examining the results of the mutation. Strong’s body was many times larger now, his rock-like form now sporting a patchy layer of moss. His blocky shoulders were far more pronounced, and his head sat lower between them, his massive, jagged-edged maw left hanging open. Strong looked at his now enormous hands as he processed the change, and then reached out: a gigantic wooden club appeared in his grip, and he grinned hideously as he hefted it. “This is…some serious power,” he said, his rumbling voice sounding like thunder. “Strong, guardian deity of Alohaha,” Tia said. “You have spent so many years protecting these worthless people, and what have you gained from it? What deity makes himself a slave to his people? With the power that you possess, the people should not simply command you…they should fear you.” “Fear me? Heh, I like the sound of that.” Strong turned slightly, looking back in the direction of the environmental system. “Y’know, I think I know just the way to make that happen. Heheh…yeah. By this time tomorrow, I’ll be living like a real god!” With that he disappeared into the system. Jack stalked out of the castle without another word, and Tia did nothing to stop him. (Review)