Nova's folly: an alternate universe

[WhereFMF]

The point of divergence occurs slightly after where the Kingdom diverged. Matoro did not hesitate to put on the Mask of Life—but when he pushed back against its power to save his friends, the Ignika did not allow this. Matoro died not in contentment, but in fear for his friends.

 

Jaller, as we all know, had been preparing a Nova blast. As Matoro never teleported him to safety, he begged for Mata Nui to forgive him, and released it. The resulting explosion of fire killed the Barraki, their armies, and all the remaining Toa Mahri, and left Jaller alone and far from home.

 

With the Toa Nuva in Karda Nui and the Toa Mahri dead, Takanuva was forced to fight the Kardas dragon alone. Large parts of Metru Nui were ravaged by the dragon before he could contain it.

 

Jaller slowly made his way back to Metru Nui, burdened by grief for his teammates. Once he had told his stories, Onewa constructed not one, but five statues for the dead Toa Mahri, and to Jaller they served as a permanent reminder of his sin. However, Takanuva had mysteriously disappeared, and he was left to confront the coliseum-destroying Toa Hagah alone. Of course, he quickly surrendered, but was nevertheless able to negotiate the same deal as in the main timeline. He made the very same comment about the Hagah sealing their own tomb.

 

Hahli and Nuparu were not there to accompany Jaller on the mission to destroy the Visorak, so it was never carried out, and they too advanced on Metru Nui during the events of Destiny War. Together, the Rahkshi and Visorak overwhelmed even the Bohrok defenders in a city already damaged by the Kardas dragon.

 

Have I got everything right here? Any other consequences?

[Kopekemaster]

Erm, if you want to develop this more, I'd suggest that you put it in the Library, probably in the Epics category. S&T isn't really quite the right place for this, though the final decision, of course, is up to the staff. (I say this instead of reporting, because, yes, a long time ago, I made a similar topic and they allowed it, so you never know.)

[WhereFMF]

I intended this as theorization, so I think it'd be more appropriate here.

[bonesiii]

Actually we have technically had a rule against this sort of theory too, as a "what if" -- but the rule was made at a time when they were all over the place and we had to make it to keep S&T orderly, and I have mentioned I may suspend it now since obviously we're not overflowing with activity now. This is the first time it's come up since I said that... so... I'll leave it here for now and see what happens. (Consider the rule experimentally suspended. )

 

Note, though, that part of why we did make that rule is that alternate timelines could have any number of differences, so the results could technically be unpredictable. But assuming you try to stick to what we know, it's possible to guess the most likely result. Anywho...

 

So. On-topic:

 

First apparent error here is that Jaller would probably die. Some have said he wouldn't and I'm no longer 100% sure, but he was releasing intense heat and he was at the center of it. He has heat resistance, not heat invincibility. It should melt him. I certainly got the impression everybody around him understood he was sacrificing himself.

 

So, everything from that point involving Jaller should instead have either nobody, or somebody else assigned to the same task by (for example) the Order. I think...

[WhereFMF]

Nova blasts do no harm to those who release them. Evidence:

• Gali, the only character in the storyline who actually used one, was unhurt.
• Vakama, another Toa of Fire, absorbed all the heat in a room and unleashed it to no personal harm. This was not a Nova Blast, but it was a blast of fire almost equivalent to what Jaller would have unleashed.
• From the BioSector01 article, "The Glatorian imbued with Elemental Power by Mata Nui can also perform the equivalent of a Nova Blast, though it would kill the Glatorian in the process; this is because their bodies, being primarily organic, are not made to withstand that amount of energy." (Implication: Toa can withstand that amount of energy and will not die.)

[bonesiii]

Well, disclaimer again that I'm rusty on this subject, but the operating theory was not that all Nova Blasts are fatal (notice I mentioned this), but only the ones that would naturally be fatal, especially Fire. We saw at least one Toa with armor partially melting at one point (I forget who or where now though), so they do have upper limits on their resistance. Nobody really expected Gali's Nova Blast to be fatal; it's just water, and she especially is very well equipped to handle the dangers of such a thing. And as you say, that wasn't a Nova Blast that Vakama did.

 

The third point is news to me, but without direct confirmation that no Nova Blasts are fatal to their Toa I wouldn't be so sure; that could also just mean that even the elements that aren't fatal for their Toa like Water could be fatal for Glatorian.

 

 

Edit: You got me curious enough to check through fishers' archives. It seems the issue with Jaller was not about heat but breathing (but he'd still be dead either way ):

Q: Will a regular Toa usually live or die when they go Nova? Jaller said he was going to die, and seemed set on it, but Gali went Nova and lived. Was that just because she was a Nuva?

 

Greg: Ah, but think about it -- Gali was unleashing a torrent of water and wearing a Mask of Water Breathing so she wouldn’t drown. Jaller would have vaporized the water for miles, maybe hundreds of miles or more around, and he breathed water. He would have suffocated.

Edited April 16, 2014 by bonesiii

[WhereFMF]

While we're on the topic of Nova Blasts, how would some of the more solid ones look? Suppose a Toa of Earth performed one—would we be hit in the face by clods of dirt? Would a Toa of Ice simply freeze himself and everything around him? How about Stone? Plant Life (of which at least one existed, as noted in Legacy of Evil chapter 1)?

 

What if Takanuva had released one while he was half-light and half-shadow? Perhaps nothing would have happened and he would still have been drained of his powers?

[fishers64]

What if Takanuva had released one while he was half-light and half-shadow? Perhaps nothing would have happened and he would still have been drained of his powers?

It would have been half shadow on one side, half light on the other.

Edited April 17, 2014 by fishers64

[TERIDAX941]

While we're on the topic of Nova Blasts, how would some of the more solid ones look? Suppose a Toa of Earth performed one—would we be hit in the face by clods of dirt? Would a Toa of Ice simply freeze himself and everything around him? How about Stone? Plant Life (of which at least one existed, as noted in Legacy of Evil chapter 1)?

 

What if Takanuva had released one while he was half-light and half-shadow? Perhaps nothing would have happened and he would still have been drained of his powers?

I tend to think of Nova Blasts being performed with the Toa being in the very center of it all, and their elemental blast exploding all around them. So, say Onua went nova, say a gigantic wave of earth exploded from him, and piled up all around, for example. He'd be in the middle of it all, and he could probably survive, since he was the source and it's all going outward. (Or in his case, he could totally disrupt all earth around him in a mega earthquake that could level an entire continent perhaps (depending on whether he's a Nuva or not)... but with fire or ice, I tend to think that the explosion being all outwards, would leave the source mainly untouched. So Kopaka would end up freezing everything around him, but not himself. A nova of gravity would probably crush anything with weight and so forth.

 

As far as Takanuva goes, his nova blast would have a much larger shadow effect than light, because since he was drained, he has a mental block that keeps him from recharging his light energy so it'd already be depleted so he wouldn't have that much light energy, while his shadow side would be stronger, because it is constantly recharging itself so it could be at it's almost full potential. But once he went nova, all his light energy would be drained, and he wouldn't be able to regain it, so darkness would take him completely, and he'd be a fully shadow toa.

[Toa of Italy]

On the subject of Nova Blasts, I think that Jaller would have survived his own if he had unleashed it, based on the evidence we have so far and that WhereFMF has already listed. As a matter of fact, I believe that in The Kingdom Alternate Universe he did unleash it, since Matoro did not put the Ignika on at all, and not only did he survive but at least some of the Mahri did as well (BS01 says Matoro did put on the mask and teleport the Mahri to Metru Nui, but I don't know where they got that from; I am actually writing an epic which is a prequel to The Kingdom and in it Jaller does unleash the blast and the other Mahri survive only thanks to the sacrifice of one of their own).

 

As for the original question, I think the consequences would be more widespread than that. For a start, Takanuva was already gone, I think, by the time the Kardas Dragon attacked Metru Nui. As a result, the destruction would be even greater. It's hard and highly speculative to guess what would happen from there. The dragon might either force all the inhabitants to flee or might eventually be contained.

Provided, like in your version, that it was contained, the Toa Hagah would eventually reach Metru Nui. But they would have to destroy the Coliseum, since Hewkii wouldn't be there to keep it intact while they carve their tunnel. I also think that Norik would leave some of his team to guard the city, since Jaller might be alone or might not even be there (it's a long journey from the Pit to Metru Nui).

With the city in those conditions, I doubt the Order would use it as base for their last battle. They would also use someone else for the Visorak mission, which would therefore succeed regardless. Anyway, this is rather academic, since Teridax would eventually take over the universe.

 

Or would he? I think you underestimate the impact Matoro had on the Mask of Life. The Ignika allowed him to save his friends because it was impressed by his resolve. If it weren't, not only the Mahri wouldn't be teleported to Metru Nui, but the mask might not become a Toa either. It might not learn of its countdown and would probably turn black before the conclusion of the Toa Nuva's mission, destroying the entire universe. I leave it to you to imagine the consequences this would have for the rest of the BIONICLE universe (meaning Spherus Magna).

[fishers64]

*takes stock*

 

1) Some lucky sea creatures would be feeding on boiled Barraki that night. This means that Pridak's alliance with TSO never happened, and the Barraki are eliminated as threats to SM.

 

2) All of the other Toa Mahri would be dead. The Golden Skakdi would be missing some of his key servants.

 

This also means that some other group of Toa or Order Agents would be sent to Artidax. Given that the latter group would be unlikely to be amphibious, they would probably end up dead.

 

3) Toa Jaller, if he managed to "hold his breath" and survive the Nova Blast, would have been forced to wander the ocean until the rising of the Giant Robot killed him from, you know, falling off the massive thing. Alternatively he might have been able to join Lesovikk and Hydraxon, if the Nova Blast didn't kill them too. However the "reverse all mutations" thing wouldn't apply to Jaller's transform, although the Ignika might make him amphibious later as a mercy (and which moment it chose to do it might really affect things... ) or he could use a Brutaka-style water-breathing device.

 

4) By extension, no one knows what happened to the other Toa Mahri. Vakama is put in that awkward position of having to explain his vision of Matoro's death and making people believe it, which could be hard. (Also might come across to the audience as a contrived plot point...)

 

5) No Toa are left to guard Metru Nui during the siege at the end of Destiny War, or perhaps Toa have to be relocated from elsewhere to guard the place.

 

6) The Coliseum is destroyed because there is no one to stop the Toa Hagah from doing so and not a very good way to avoid it. As a result, the Core Processor entrance remains exposed, possibly attracting the attention of some curious Matoran and/or allowing Tahu to raid the Core Processor and destroy it/pull the Glatorian-pilot-override-switch (why didn't Helryx think of that? ).

 

7) Macku is sad because Hewkii is dead.

 

8) Hydraxon and Lesovikk, should they survive, might have several new masks/weapons for their collection and use. The Order has six more of the water breathing devices, or maybe the Matoran they hired to make them got the day off, so they invented a super-weapon instead and... .

 

I think that might cover it.

Edited April 19, 2014 by fishers64

[bonesiii]

On the subject of Nova Blasts, I think that Jaller would have survived his own if he had unleashed it

No, see the Greg quote in my previous post; he confirmed Jaller would have died.

 

As a matter of fact, I believe that in The Kingdom Alternate Universe he did unleash it, since Matoro did not put the Ignika on at all, and not only did he survive but at least some of the Mahri did as well (BS01 says Matoro did put on the mask and teleport the Mahri to Metru Nui, but I don't know where they got that from

Unless I missed something, the Kingdom never said he never put it on at all, and actually may imply the opposite:

 

Toa Matoro - referred to in the carvings as the "Disgraced One" – had hesitated a few moments too long in his pursuit of the mask. The core of the universe had been sealed off, making it impossible for him to revive the Great Spirit Mata Nui with the mask.

My destiny was before me, and I hesitated ...

And BS01 is almost always accurate; I'd presume someone asked Greg why the Nova Blast didn't kill Matoro and the others in that story and he gave that answer, but if you want to know for sure you can always search fishers' archives. Even without a Greg quote, it's certainly most likely that once Matoro saw "the way is shut... it was made by--" *ahem* -- once he saw Jaller was about to destroy his friends pointlessly, he would have had the same idea as in the canon universe and beg the Ignika to stop it.

 

For your fanfic's purposes, that idea sounds really cool -- I'd probably keep the decision if I were you (especially if you've already written that part) and just call it an alternate version of the Kingdom, which is very possible. You could even combine the idea with WFMF's, if he's willing, and have Matoro put on the mask and beg the Ignika to teleport them, but have it refuse -- that way the mask's refusal would be the only deviation from the canon as reported by BS01. Although I'm not sure it's realistic that Ignika would refuse, so maybe not...

 

 

Toa Jaller, if he managed to "hold his breath" and survive the Nova Blast, would have been forced to wander the ocean until the rising of the Giant Robot killed him from, you know, falling off the massive thing.

Not necessarily; Botar knew the Inika/Mahri were being sent down there; the Order might have wanted to eventually send him with scuba gear or something to see if he could find any of them alive. A lot depends on if they could know there was a blast, and if they would assume Jaller died (they might not think of the suffocation thing or even know it was possible). Edited April 20, 2014 by bonesiii